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ILL  HIST.  SUWl 


VILLAGE  ON  THE  COUNTY  LINE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/villageoncountylOOduga 


VILLAGE 
OH  THE  CGXJHTY  LINE 


A  HISTORY  OF  HINSDALE,  ILLINOIS 


HUGH   G.    DUGAN 


PRIVATELY    PRINTED 
1949 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

THE  LAKESIDE  PRESS   •   R.  R.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY 

CHICAGO,    ILLINOIS.    AND    CRAWFORDSVILLE.    INDIANA 


"k 


Commemorating  Ten  Tears  of 
Friends  of  the  Library 


BOARD   OF  DIRECTORS,  1949 

Mr.  G.  L.  Seaton,  President  Mr.  R.  H.  Trenholme,  Vice  President 

Mrs.  Robert  B.  Ayres,  Secretary  Mr.  Clifford  C.  Pratt,  Treasurer 

Mrs.  Harold  T.  Moore  Mr.  Everett  Addoms 

Miss  Irene  Helland,  Librarian 

THE  HISTORY   COMMITTEE 
Mr.  Hugh  G.  Dugan,  Chairman  Miss  Naidene  Goy 


Mrs.  Felix  Caruso  Mrs.  Gertrude  Ketcham 

Mr.  Lester  C.  Childs  Mrs.  Chauncey  T.  Lamb 

\      Mr.  Otis  R.  Cushing  Mr.  Philip  Williams 


BOOK  DISTRIBUTION   COMMITTEE 

Mr.  Ernest  B.  Johnson 
and  a  large  number  of  volunteer  helpers. 


To  avoid  the  semblance  of  a  textbook,  and  to  minimize  expense,  this  book  contains  no 
detailed  bibliography.  The  committee  used  care  in  determining  its  facts,  and  believes 
all  its  sources  to  be  reliable.  Any  evidence  of  mis-statement  of  fact  will  be  gratefully 
received,  and  readily  acknowledged. 


FOREWORD 


THROUGHOUT  the  past  few  months  I  have  had  an  occasional 
inquiry  from  Hugh  Dugan  about  some  phase  or  incident  of 
Hinsdale's  early  life.  There  is  no  topic  upon  which  I  would  more 
readily  or  agreeably  discourse— dealing  as  it  does  with  a  period  that  in 
retrospect  has  become  more  precious  to  me  with  the  passing  of  each 
succeeding  year.  Thus  when  I  learned  that  his  inquiries  were  part  of  a 
material  gathering  prelude  to  the  writing  of  a  Hinsdale  history  under 
the  sponsorship  of  the  Friends  of  the  Library,  my  first  reaction  was  one 
of  unmixed  gratification  that  so  worthy  a  project  was  being  under- 
taken, and  by  such  an  eminently  constituted  and  well-qualified  group. 
Upon  further  reflection  however,  this  initial  enthusiasm  gradually 
gave  way  to  skepticism  and  apprehension.  The  more  I  pondered  the 
matter,  the  more  convinced  I  became  that  no  one  less  than  a  Dickens 
or  a  Hawthorne  could  produce  a  portrait  of  that  beloved  Hinsdale  of 
by-gone  days,  that  would  satisfy  the  critical  and  exacting  demands 
of  all  those  who  had  had  the  great  good  fortune  to  have  been  a  part  of  it. 
Hence  it  was  not  long  until  I  found  myself  hoping  that  the  attempt 
would  be  abandoned  rather  than  carried  through  to  what  I  feared 
would  be  an  inadequate  and  disappointing  result. 

But  to  convey  these  reservations  to  Mr.  Dugan  without  appearing 
unpardonably  presumptuous,  posed  a  problem  that  I  shortly  decided  I 
had  neither  the  skill  nor  the  temerity  to  undertake.  And  now  that  he 
and  his  colleagues  have  all  but  completed  their  work  and  I  have  just 
had  the  privilege  of  reading  a  final  proof  of  the  manuscript,  how  glad  I 
am  that  I  so  refrained.  My  misgivings  are  dispelled  and  though  many 
of  the  older  natives  could,  like  myself,  cite  countless  experiences  whose 
inclusion  might  add  flavor  to  the  story,  I  feel  confident  they  will  agree 
with  me  that  a  remarkable  job  has  been  done  of  recreating  the  Village 
as  we  knew  it  in  our  youth  as  well,  as  recording  its  less  familiar  but 
equally  interesting  earlier  history  back  through  the  first  settlers  even 
to  the  glacial  age. 

Hinsdale's  more  recent  residents  as  well  as  those  of  the  future  may 
find  compensation  from  these  pages  only  to  the  extent  of  their  explora- 

vii 


viii  FOREWORD 

tory  interest  in  community  background  but  to  the  "old  timers"  the 
book  should  be  an  exciting  adventure  in  reading  and  also  a  nostalgic 
one.  At  least  it  was  for  me. 

Venerable  landmarks  and  institutions,  most  of  them  long  since 
gone,  come  alive  again  together  with  many  all  but  forgotten  names 
and  faces.  A  notable  example  is  the  old  Garfield  School  before  it  was 
enlarged,  where  a  succession  of  tolerant  and  kindly  teachers— bless 
them  all— accorded  me  twelve  hectic  but  happy  years  of  education, 
beginning  with  kindergarten  and  ending  with  high  school  graduation. 
Another  fond  memory  that  the  book  awakens  is  that  of  the  water  tower 
on  the  school  grounds  that  someone  was  always  climbing  to  its  precari- 
ous one  hundred  and  fifteen  foot  summit  largely  because  it  was  un- 
lawful to  do  so;  likewise  the  skating  at  Beckwith's  Pond  and  the  more 
extensive  skating  as  well  as  the  swimming  and  fishing  and  boating  on 
Salt  Creek— particularly  before  its  waters  were  contracted  so  greatly  in 
1916  with  the  breaking  of  the  dam.  Still  others  were  the  gay  parties  at 
the  Club;  the  coasting  on  the  Garfield  and  the  Sanitarium  hills;  the 
hay-rides  and  the  sleigh-rides;  the  morning  paper  routes  traversed  on 
the  run  by  high  school  athletes  and  incidentally,  the  medium  through 
which  more  than  one  young  man,  myself  included,  made  his  debut  into 
America's  system  of  free  enterprise;  the  Saturday  afternoon  football 
and  baseball  games  at  the  "end  of  Washington"  where  Hinsdale's 
"Town  Team"  usually  vanquished  its  visiting  opponent;  and  finally, 
the  village  rendezvous  at  any  and  all  hours — Evernden's  Drug  Store 
and  its  beloved  proprietors,  William  Evernden  and  Nelson  Webster. 

How  many  more  such  recollections  could  be  recounted — recollec- 
tions of  events  and  places  all  inextricably  woven  into  the  daily  existence 
of  a  community  not  yet  so  grown  that  its  population  wasn't  individually 
known  each  to  the  other  and  a  newcomer  seldom  remained  a  stranger 
more  than  overnight. 

The  particular  period  of  which  I  reminisce  was  the  decade  just 
before  and  after  the  turn  of  the  century  and  even  though  the  Village 
had  been  chartered  perhaps  some  twenty-five  years  previous,  I  believe 
that  the  adults  of  that  period— my  parents  who  came  to  Hinsdale  in 
1 886  and  their  contemporaries— could  properly  be  classified  among  the 
pioneers  of  the  community.  At  least  they  were  the  later  pioneers.  These 
families  included  prominent  Chicago  business  men  who  preferred  the 
country,  particularly  Hinsdale's  wooded  and  hilly  regions,  to  either 


FOREWORD  ix 

the  city  or  the  flat  expanses  of  its  more  immediate  surrounding  sub- 
urban areas.  They  were  cultured  as  well  as  capable  and  the  Hinsdale 
that  they  encountered  during  its  formative  years  and  that  developed 
under  their  influence  could  hardly  have  resulted  other  than  in  a  com- 
munity of  character,  charm  and  distinction.  They  took  over  their  rich 
inheritance  from  the  founders— the  Robbins,  the  Stoughs,  the  Walkers, 
the  Ayres— they  planted  more  trees;  they  paved  the  streets;  they  put  in 
the  utilities;  they  established  churches  and  schools— and  most  impor- 
tant of  all,  they  enacted  ordinances  to  preserve  Hinsdale  as  a  superior 
residential  community.  With  land  relatively  low  in  cost  their  own 
roomy  houses  were  surrounded  by  ample  grounds.  Every  home  had  its 
vegetable  garden  and  many  had  cherry  and  apple  orchards  in  addition 
to  tennis  courts  and  croquet  grounds.  And  the  Village  abounded  with 
open  fields  for  baseball,  football  or  any  other  form  of  athletics.  There 
was  in  consequence,  vastly  more  out  of  door  living. 

It  was  essentially  a  pedestrian  community.  Nearly  everyone  walked 
to  the  train  or  to  market  or  to  school  and  thus  individuals  met  fre- 
quently if  not  daily.  A  community  on  foot  is  a  gregarious  community 
and  such  was  the  Hinsdale  of  that  day— a  warm-hearted,  sociable  and 
gracious  one. 

Differences  in  degree  of  material  wealth  existed,  of  course,  then  as 
now.  There  were  those  who  were  always  referred  to  as  the  "well  to  do" 
and  perhaps  there  was  envy  at  times  and  small  bitternesses  here  and 
there.  Yet  there  was  very  little  class  society.  If  someone  was  ill  my 
mother  or  some  other  mother  faithfully  visited  that  home  with  things 
to  eat.  My  father's  diary  frequently  records  an  all-night  vigil  that  he 
would  keep  at  the  bedside  of  some  sick  friend.  None  of  this  was  charity 
—none  condescension  to  ease  the  conscience— it  was  neighborliness.  I 
don't  mean  to  imply  that  human  kindliness  doesn't  abundantly  exist  in 
our  society  today.  There  are  undoubtedly  many  Hinsdaleans  who  pres- 
ently are  giving  as  much  if  not  more  of  their  time  and  energy  to  public 
service  than  did  those  earlier  ones  of  whom  I  write,  but  our  welfare 
efforts  of  today  are  largely  supervisory  and  impersonal.  They  are  per- 
formed primarily  as  institutional  officers  or  trustees  whereas  the  minis- 
trations of  those  days  were  direct  and  intimate.  And  as  such,  they  were 
symbolic  of  the  compassion  and  simplicity  and  wholesomeness  that 
characterized  the  age. 

Half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  those  days— a  half  century  that  has 


x  FOREWORD 

brought  probably  as  many  changes  as  have  ever  occurred  in  a  similar 
period  of  history.  Hinsdale  is  much  larger— therefore  less  "homey." 
The  strange  faces  I  see  these  mornings  on  the  station  platform  far  out- 
number the  familiar  ones.  But  the  character  that  the  pioneers  gave  to 
the  community  has  changed  but  little.  Its  citizens  of  today  impress  me 
as  evaluating  life  much  as  did  their  predecessors— sharing  their  love  of 
country  and  believing  staunchly  as  they  did,  in  Christian  living  and  in 
the  American  principles  of  individual  freedom  and  democratic 
government. 

I  count  myself  as  singularly  fortunate  to  have  lived  in  both  eras— 
to  have  had  my  entire  life  unfold  in  this  beloved  village.  This  book  is 
an  authentic  and  for  me  a  stirring  story  of  its  background— bridging 
the  span  between  those  who  made  it  and  those  who  are  keeping  it.  It 
deserves  an  important  place  in  every  local  library  and  all  Hinsdaleans 
—past,  present  and  future— will  be  enduringly  grateful  to  Mr.  Dugan 
and  his  collaborators  for  the  prodigious  effort  and  skill  and  vision  that 
its  production  so  manifestly  reflects. 

Philip  R.  Clarke 
February  3,  1949 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 


Many  old-time  residents  who,  through  interviews  and  voluntary  contributions 
have  furnished  reminiscences,  photographs,  and  other  mementos  of  the  past. 


ESPECIALLY: 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  L.  Blackman 

Mr.  John  G.  Bohlander  Jr. 

Mr.  Chester  C.  Bratten 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Philip  R.  Clarke 

Mr.  George  Coffin 

Mr.  Arthur  F.  Collins 

Mr.  Alex  L.  Dawson 

Mrs.  Pearl  Dunphy 

Mrs  L.  M.  Fee 

Mr.  Wade  Fetzer 

Mrs.  Courtney  D.  Freeman 

The  late  Mrs.  Walter  Field 

The  late  Mrs.  William  Graue 

Miss  Bessie  Hinckley 


Mrs.  Edward  F.  Hines 

Mrs.  William  R.  Jordan 

Mr.  Harry  Larson 

Mr.  Frederick  H.  McElhone 

Miss  Emma  Ostrum 

Mr.  Paul  Richert 

Mrs.  Bruce  E.  Richie 

Mr.  Charles  O.  Ring 

Mr.  Agard  Ross 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  E.  Ruchty 

The  late  Mary  E.  Saunders 

Miss  Gertrude  Van  Liew 

Miss  Alice  Warren 


Data  collected  by  Maud  Wright  Hiatt's  Committee  for  Hinsdale's  fiftieth 

birthday  celebration  in  1923. 

Gilpin  Library  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society. 

The  Newberry  Library. 

The  Merrill  Printing  Company. 

The  Chicago  Burlington  &  Quincy  Railroad  Company. 

Corina  Melder  Collier,  for  drawing  the  pioneer  map. 

Mrs.  Harold  Dunton     Mr.  Walter  M.  Givler     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ford  Porter 

Wheaton  Naperville  Warrenville 

FOR    TYPING   THE  MANUSCRIPT: 

Mrs.  Robert  Sifferd 
Mrs.  Arthur  Bethke  Mrs.  Ernest  Root 

Mrs.  John  Janak  Mrs.  Frank  Skold 

Miss  Ruth  Riggs  Mrs.  Fred  Townsend 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Foreword     ........        vii 

Introduction xvii 


chapter      part  one  Background 


I  Land,  Stream  and  Native         ....  3 

II  White  Pioneers 9 

III  Black  Hawk's  Threat     .....  17 

IV  Settlement  Under  Way  .....  29 


part  two  The  Village 


V         Brush  Hill 45 

VI         Coming  of  the  Railroad  .....  69 

VII          The  Elegant  Era 93 

VIII          From  1900  Onward 141 

IX         Symbols  of  a  Good  Society    ....  158 

X         The  Pivots  of  Village  Life  ....  167 

Addenda .  187 

Index 193 


PICTURES  AND  MAPS 

Map  of  the  Hinsdale  Vicinity  in  Pioneer  Times  .         .         .      Front  endsheet 

Shabbona,  Chief  of  the  Pottawattamies 28 

The  Horace  Aldrich  House 36 

Scene  Along  the  Illinois-Michigan  Canal 38 

Bull's  Head  Tavern 42 

Jacob  Fuller's  House 47 

School  Appointment  Certificate 50 

John  Coe's  Tax  Receipt 50 

Castle  Inn 52 

Toll  Gate  House 53 

Household  Utensils,  1850 57 

Farm  House  of  Alfred  L.  Walker 58 

Graue's  Grist  Mill 60 

Class  of  1889,  Fullersburg  School 66 

Petition  for  the  Railroad 1°>11 

Locomotive  of  1865 .         ..........  75 

The  First  Baptist  Church 84 

Railroad  Timetable,   1868 87 

Joel  Tiffany's  House 94 

Interior  of  the  Tiffany  House 94 

The  Baker's  Dozen  ...........  102 

Hinsdale  Business  District,  1883     ........  105 

First  Graduating  Class,  Hinsdale  High  School       .....  107 

Washington  Street  Crossing,  1883  ........  108 

Miss  Blodgett's  First  Grade 110 

Hinsdale  "Old-Timers" 113 

The  Stone  School  House 116 

Heineman  Building,   1895       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  117 

The  Oldest  Existing  Dwelling       ........  122 

Members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  on  Mr.  Allen's  Porch      .         .         .         ,         .  124 

Walnut  Street,  before  It  Was  Paved 133 

Program,  Eighth  Grade  Graduating  Exercises,  1893       .         .         .         .  136 

The  Grant  Street  Hill 138 

The  Park  Hotel 139 

Map  of  Hinsdale,   1869  . Back  endsheet 


INTRODUCTION 


WHEN,  at  the  request  of  Mrs.  Paul  Burt,  a  history  committee  of 
the  Friends  of  the  Library  was  assembled,  it  was  decided  that  we 
could  serve  best  by  collecting  information  about  Hinsdale's  past  so  it 
could  be  made  available  to  all  who  cared  to  peruse  it.  Toward  this  end 
a  fairly  large  number  of  pamphlets,  books,  personal  memoranda,  and 
pictures  relating  to  the  subject  have  been  accumulated  over  many 
months,  and  this  book  is  mostly  a  compendium  of  those  data. 

The  book  makes  no  attempt  to  boost  the  town,  or  to  eulogize  any- 
thing or  any  person.  It  carries  no  banner  for  a  cause.  Its  only  purpose 
is  to  relate,  as  they  happened,  those  events  and  circumstances  which 
seem  especially  pertinent  to  Hinsdale's  origin  and  growth.  It  is  our 
hope  that  this  has  been  done  in  readable  form. 

It  has  been  the  committee's  desire  to  present  as  complete  a  story  as 
possible,  but  it  soon  became  apparent  that  there  would  be  restrictions 
on  the  size  of  the  book,  owing  to  its  limited  circulation.  So  it  was  de- 
cided at  the  outset  to  make  it  a  story  of  Hinsdale  the  Village;  a  story 
beginning  with  the  reasons  for  its  being  here,  and  continuing  on 
through  the  stages  of  settlement,  early,  and  mid-period  growth,  but 
leaving  off  at  the  threshold  of  modern  times;  at  that  point  where  the 
interests  that  are  purely  historical  begin  to  fade.  It  seemed  especially 
desirable  to  record  those  happenings  of  bygone  years  that  otherwise 
might  be  lost  to  the  memory,  never  to  return. 

This  plan  of  procedure  has  served  its  practical  purpose,  that  of 
confining  the  history  within  the  bounds  of  a  single,  medium-sized 
volume,  but  it  leaves  much  to  be  desired;  for  a  great  deal  of  informa- 
tion, that  is  of  interest  concerning  Hinsdale,  has  necessarily  been 
omitted.  It  has  been  impossible,  for  instance,  to  do  justice  to  the 
service  records  of  those  who  took  part  in  World  War  II.  Perhaps  some 
day  those  records  will  be  preserved  in  another  Memorial  War  Review, 
such  as  the  one  compiled  after  World  War  I.  Similarly,  it  is  sug- 
gested that  supplemental  data  might  be  prepared  dealing  with  Hins- 
dale organizations,  proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  or  other 
phases  of  village  life  that  are  worthy  of  more  detailed  treatment. 

xvii 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

Certainly  some  committee  of  the  future  should  undertake  a  compi- 
lation of  the  town's  history  following  1930,  at  about  which  year  the 
present  story  terminates.  So  many  people  have  arrived  in  Hinsdale 
since  that  year,  people  who  have  done  much  to  make  the  village  what  it 
is;  and  interesting  events  are  occurring  daily.  Modern  homes  and 
buildings  would  take  their  places  among  the  illustrations.  In  view  of 
the  possibility  of  such  a  future  undertaking,  the  preliminary  chapters 
of  the  present  book  are  somewhat  more  comprehensive  than  might  be 
called  for  by  a  single  volume. 

My  parents  moved  to  Hinsdale  as  recently  as  1908,  so  this  history 
has  not  been  written  by  a  genuine  old-timer.  This  shortcoming  has 
largely  been  ameliorated  by  the  assistance  that  has  been  had  in  the 
book's  preparation.  The  writer  is  most  grateful  to  members  of  the 
history  committee,  and  to  others  who  helped  furnish  the  data. 

H.  G.  D. 

May  2,  1949 


VILLAGE  ON  THE  COUNTY  LINE 


chapter  i  Land,  Stream  and  Native 


HINSDALE,  ILLINOIS,  lies  within  the  Desplaines  River  Basin, 
in  which  Salt  Creek  forms  a  tributary,  as  do  Flagg  Creek  and 
the  two  stems  of  the  Du  Page  River  to  the  west.  The  Desplaines  origi- 
nates in  southeastern  Wisconsin.  Its  confluence  with  the  Kankakee 
above  Ottawa  marks  the  beginning  of  the  Illinois  River. 

During  a  past  age,  so  many  years  ago  that  it  is  difficult  to  compre- 
hend such  a  span  of  time,  the  area  now  designated  as  Du  Page,  Cook, 
and  their  adjacent  counties  was  submerged.  A  shallow  sea  extended 
this  far  inland.  Much  of  the  bottom  of  this  body  of  water  became  rock, 
largely  through  the  formation  and  deposition  of  marine  fossils,  and  it 
now  comprises  the  belt  of  bedrock  beneath  the  surface  of  our  county. 
The  belt  extends  from  New  York  state  to  points  in  Iowa,  and  the  rock 
has  been  called  Niagara  Limestone.  It  is  the  only  massive  rock  found 
in  Du  Page  County. 

For  reasons  that  appear  obscure  in  the  reference  works  on  the  sub- 
ject, the  bottom  of  this  inland  sea,  which  covered  the  central  part  of 
the  continent,  slowly  emerged.  The  land  thus  formed  became  subject 
to  erosion,  the  accumulation  of  soil,  and  to  the  furrowing  and  billow- 
ing action  of  glaciers  that  repeatedly  visited  the  upper  Middle  West, 
over  eons  of  time,  and  through  cycles  of  climatic  changes. 

Owing  to  their  tendency  to  flow,  as  water  flows,  these  mountains  of 
ice  moved,  down  from  the  north,  carrying  much  of  the  land  surface 
with  them.  Movements  of  earth  have  determined  local  topography, 
and  this,  in  turn,  has  influenced  the  economic  and  social  trends  of 
particular  areas.  Climate,  land  formations,  and  the  location  of  lakes 
and  water  courses,  formed  by  the  past  movements  of  ice  and  land 
masses,  have  influenced  the  flow  of  commerce,  and  this  has  had  much 
to  do  with  the  location  of  towns  and  cities. 

The  glaciers  brought  to  this  district  a  heterogeneous  mixture  of 
drift,  or  soil,  much  of  which  is  stratified,  representing  the  different 
periods  in  which  it  was  deposited.  Stratified  gravels  and  sands  are 
visible  in  artificially  cut  embankments  at  Lemont,  Willow  Springs, 
and  Joliet.  Old  strip  mines  near  Joliet  have  yielded  agate,  jasper,  and 

3 


4  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

other  semi-precious  stones.  The  high  banks  of  Salt  Creek  reveal  no 
layers  of  drift,  but  glacier-borne  rocks  and  boulders  are  scattered  along 
both  sides  of  the  stream. 

Along  the  line  where  the  last  glacier  stopped  in  this  district,  about 
25,000  years  ago,  it  left  a  well  defined  ridge  or  moraine,  roughly 
parallel  to  the  shore  line  of  Lake  Michigan  and  from  five  to  thirty 
miles  inland,  through  northern  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  southern  Wis- 
consin. This  ridge  has  been  named  the  Valparaiso  Moraine,  because 
of  its  prominence  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana.  Hinsdale  is  situated  on  the 
lakeward  border  of  this  moraine. 

We  are  told  that  the  Great  Lakes  were  formed  by  the  glaciers,  and 
that  after  the  last  ice  sheet  had  receded,  Lake  Michigan  extended  as 
far  west  as  La  Grange.  Its  shore  line  at  that  time  has  remained  as  a 
clearly  defined  but  lesser  ridge  running  north  and  south  along  the 
eastern  edge  of  La  Grange.  "Chicago  Lake,"  as  the  older  Lake  Mich- 
igan has  been  designated  for  geological  reference,  receded  at  progres- 
sive intervals  eastward  to  its  present  shore  line,  and  the  progressive 
recedings  have  left  other,  smaller  ridges  or  "beaches."  There  is  the 
Glenwood  Beach  which  touches  La  Grange,  the  two  Calumet  Beaches, 
and  the  "old"  and  the  "new"  Tolleston  Beaches.  These  irregular 
heights  of  land  seem  to  converge  in  a  general  way,  in  the  area  between 
Riverside  and  Summit. 

While  Chicago  Lake  was  contracting,  the  Desplaines  is  said  to  have 
emptied  into  the  lake,  possibly  through  a  juncture  with  the  Chicago 
River.  "The  Desplaines  seems  to  have  had  a  free  choice  between  a 
course  to  the  Mississippi  or  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  Its  present  course  (to 
the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi)  appears  highly  accidental." 

The  aberrations  of  that  river  seem  to  have  been  duplicated  in  a 
way  by  two  of  its  tributaries.  Most  Hinsdaleans  are  not  aware  of  the 
fact  that  the  two  small  streams,  Salt  Creek  and  Flagg  Creek  have  been 
of  interest  to  geologists,  especially  regarding  the  directions  they  have 
taken,  and  why  they  do  not  join.  Both  streams  occupy  a  north-south 
depression  within  the  eastern  ridge  of  the  moraine,  but  Salt  Creek 
makes  an  abrupt  turn  to  the  east,  along  Spring  Road  in  the  Forest  Pre- 
serve, and  cuts  through  the  eastern  ridge  to  join  the  Desplaines,  instead 
of  continuing  to  flow  southward  with  Flagg  Creek.  (See  map  in  front  of 
book.)  A  state  geological  survey,  made  in  1 909,  devotes  several  para- 
graphs to  this  unusual  expression  of  nature. 


LAND,  STREAM  AND  NATIVE  5 

Originally,  Salt  Creek  was  known  as  the  " Little  Desplaines." 
Later,  during  the  era  of  hauling  goods  by  wagon,  when  bridges  over 
streams  were  few,  a  wagon  load  of  salt  became  mired  in  its  muddy  bed. 
The  wagon  sank  deeper,  the  salt  melted,  and  so  the  stream  got  its  name, 
''Salt  Creek."  The  teamster  was  one  John  Reid,  and  his  load  of  salt 
was  destined  for  Galena.  Flagg  Creek  was  named  for  Reuben  Flagg, 
an  early  settler  at  Walker's  Grove,  now  called  Plainfield. 

Another  geological  survey  says  the  glacial  drift  at  Hinsdale  is  less 
than  100  feet  deep,  and  that  the  underlying  limestone  contains  water- 
bearing crevices,  conditions  that  are  favorable  for  a  large  water  supply 
at  shallow  depths.  Untreated,  the  water  is  hard,  made  so  by  its  content 
of  calcium  and  magnesium  bicarbonates. 

There  were  many  natural  springs  in  this  vicinity.  Western  Springs, 
the  neighboring  village  to  the  east,  derives  its  name  from  them,  as 
does  Spring  Road,  north  of  Fullersburg.  As  the  artesian  water  table  of 
the  region  has  lowered,  the  springs  have  become  less  numerous,  but 
as  late  as  1862  a  "gusher"  spring  was  recorded,  one  which  broke  out 
suddenly  through  the  earth's  crust.  This  occurred  three  miles  north 
of  Fullersburg.  The  crater,  formed  by  the  eruption,  was  so  large  that 
it  was  called  Mammoth  Spring.  Salt  Creek  is  partly  spring  fed,  as 
were  some  of  the  ponds  that  were  found  on  the  site  of  Hinsdale. 

This  village  lies  within  a  soil  belt  indicated  on  the  maps  as  "fine 
type  clay  and  loam."  It  consists  of  these  parts:  decayed  residue  of  orig- 
inal rock  layers,  formed  before  the  first  ice  sheet  arrived,  and  weath- 
ered material  brought  by  the  glaciers.  With  the  addition  of  humus 
formed  by  the  decay  of  organic  matter,  the  black  prairie  soil  was 
developed.  Although,  in  spots,  its  clay  content  is  high,  it  is  especially 
suited  to  the  growth  of  corn,  wheat,  hay,  and  small  grains,  the  vine 
crops,  potatoes,  fruit  and  vegetables.  Flowers  of  course  should  be 
added,  as  all  Hinsdaleans  well  know.  Through  many  centuries  this 
vital  substance  accumulated,  aged,  and  matured,  to  be  ready  for  the 
arrival  of  man,  both  red  and  white. 


Mr.  Charles  S.  Winslow  in  his  Indians  of  The  Chicago  Region  says 
this  area  was  first  occupied  by  the  Illinois  tribe  "as  far  back  as  history 
records."  As  he  points  out,  Lake  Michigan,  during  the  era  of  French 
exploration,  was  called  "Lake  of  the  Illinois,"  and  its  later  name 


6  VILLAGE   ON    THE   COUNTY  LINE 

"Michigan"  was  derived  from  the  Metch-i-ga-mi  branch  of  the  Illinois 
nation.  The  name  "Illinois"  in  the  Indian  language  means  strong  or 
capable  men.  Both  Father  Marquette,  during  his  short  sojourn  with 
the  tribe  in  1673,  and  La  Salle  a  few  years  later,  according  to  the  his- 
torian Francis  Parkman,  were  impressed  by  the  uprightness,  intelli- 
gence, and  friendliness  of  these  Indians. 

The  principal  village  of  the  Illinois  was  situated  on  a  large  flat 
tract  of  land  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Illinois  River  just  east  of  the 
present  town  of  Utica.  It  was  there  Marquette  visited  and  preached 
among  them.  It  was  also  there  that  La  Salle  arrived  in  the  autumn  of 
1680  and  found  the  village  deserted,  the  tribe  being  far  away  on  its 
annual  hunt.  This  village  too  was  the  objective  of  various  parties  of 
maurauding  Iroquois  from  what  is  now  New  York  state,  one  of  which 
Tonti,  La  Salle's  faithful  lieutenant,  and  his  small  party  of  French 
attempted  in  vain  to  divert,  a  year  or  so  later. 

It  was  undoubtedly  the  Iroquois  who  eventually  reduced  the  Illi- 
nois to  a  minor  position  in  the  region.  They  made  numerous  forays 
against  the  Illinois,  the  Fox,  and  the  Winnebagoes,  sometimes  in  the 
middle  of  winter,  and  their  audacity  and  cunning  were  always  the 
prelude  to  torture  and  inhumanities  of  various  sorts,  a  kind  of  war- 
fare with  which  the  comparatively  peaceful  tribes  of  the  Midwest 
were  unable  to  contend.  This  wearing  down  of  the  Illinois  did  not 
come  suddenly.  It  took  a  long  time.  After  Pontiac's  war  of  1764  came 
to  a  close,  the  remnants  of  the  Illinois  tribe  were  practically  extermi- 
nated by  enemy  tribes  here  in  the  west,  on  Starved  Rock,  near  Ottawa, 
and  following  this  episode  a  few  scattered  members  of  the  tribe  were 
seen  living  on  the  western  side  of  the  Mississippi.  Thus  one  of  the 
best  of  the  native  groups,  intellectually,  gave  way  to  superior  physical 
force. 

After  the  Illinois,  the  Miami  temporarily  became  influential  in  the 
Chicago  region.  The  Miami  were  originally  an  Algonkian  tribe  from 
farther  East.  They  had  led  the  fight  against  northwestward  expansion 
of  the  white  people  following  the  American  Revolution,  defeating 
our  Generals  Harmar  and  St.  Clair.  But  they  finally  gave  up  the  fight 
after  they  were  badly  beaten  by  Anthony  Wayne  at  Fallen  Timbers, 
in  northwestern  Ohio  in  1794. 

From  then  on,  the  Pottawattamie  predominated  around  the  foot 
of  Lake  Michigan,  with  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  as  their  con- 


LAND,  STREAM  AND  NATIVE  7 

federates.  Eventually,  by  treaty,  most  of  these  Chicago  area  natives 
were  removed  beyond  the  Mississippi,  in  1835,  and  the  Indian  influ- 
ence in  this  neighborhood  had  vanished. 

As  far  as  the  vicinity  of  Hinsdale  is  concerned,  we  know  little  of 
the  part  it  played  in  the  lives  of  the  Indians.  An  archeological  map  of 
Chicago  and  vicinity  drawn  by  Mr.  Albert  F.  Scharf  forty-nine  years 
ago  for  the  Chicago  Historical  Society  indicates  an  Indian  signal  sta- 
tion on  a  hill  in  Proviso  Township,  in  Cook  County,  a  little  east  of 
York  Road,  and  gi/£  miles  north  of  Fullersburg.  He  also  shows  three 
Indian  camps,  one  Indian  village,  a  flint  chipping  station,  and  a  small 
mound  along  the  banks  of  Salt  Creek.  These  points  are  indicated  as 
lying  north  of  the  bend  in  the  creek,  except  for  one  village  located  on 
the  north  side  of  Ogden,  east  of  York  Road.  (See  map  in  front  of 
book.)  The  evidence  on  which  Mr.  Scharf  based  his  conclusions  con- 
cerning the  location  of  these  Indian  sites  is  not  revealed,  but  there  is 
no  reason  for  questioning  the  authenticity  of  his  chart.  The  Indians 
were  nomads,  and  their  villages  were  not  permanent.  It  is  well  estab- 
lished that  the  last  one  in  this  neighborhood  was  on  ground  that  is 
within,  or  near,  the  St.  Francis  Retreat,  or  Mays  Lake  property.  It 
was  there  during  the  years  1835-40.  Also  during  that  same  period,  a 
few  wigwams  and  huts  were  located  in  the  area  north  of  Salt  Creek, 
on  both  sides  of  York  Road. 

Indian  relics  of  the  neighborhood  have  been  found  mostly  in  the 
Salt  Creek  areas.  Arrow  heads  and  other  flint  implements  continue 
to  be  uncovered  in  the  vicinity  of  the  creek. 

Ogden  Avenue  and  Plainfield  Road  are  believed  to  have  been 
well  worn  trails  before  white  people  arrived  here,  so  perhaps  the  na- 
tives of  many  tribes  passed  by  the  site  of  Hinsdale.  Local  tradition  im- 
plies the  existence  of  one  or  two  former  Indian  trails  traversing  the 
Fullersburg  and  Salt  Creek  area.  The  "Black  Hawk  trail"  referred  to 
by  old-time  residents  of  Fullersburg,  and  which  formerly  could  be 
traced  over  the  hill  from  which  Brush  Hill  got  its  name,  probably  was 
a  part  of  the  old  southwest  trail.  When  the  trail  was  developed  into  a 
road  it  was  made  to  go  around  the  hill  instead  of  over  it.  Indians, 
however,  preferred  to  mount  hills  in  their  travels,  in  order  to  obtain 
a  view  of  the  surroundings.  They  were  ever  alert  and  on  guard. 
Mr.  T.  E.  Clark  old-time  resident  of  Fullersburg  said:  "The  old 
Indian  trail  to  the  Mississippi  River  was  right  in  front  of  my  house 


8  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

and  ran  directly  across  the  Mays  Lake  property About 

the  year  1 860  some  of  the  Indians  from  the  west  used  to  come  on  their 
ponies  to  visit  the  graves  of  their  forefathers  along  the  Desplaines 
River.  Old  settlers  told  me  of  seeing  them  occasionally." 

Very  likely,  one  or  more  of  the  secondary  roads  of  the  Salt  Creek 
area  was  formerly  an  Indian  path,  and  one  of  these  could  have  been 
Spring  Road.  According  to  County  records,  Spring  Road  was  one  of 
the  first  in  this  area  to  be  surveyed,  and  early  roads  often  followed 
Indian  trails.  The  natives  could  have  needed  that  route  along  the 
creek,  the  same  as  the  pioneer  farmers  needed  it,  as  a  way  of  travel 
between  the  hinterlands  and  the  main  East-West  trail.  Flowing 
springs  are  found  along  Spring  Road,  and  this  further  is  suggestive  of 

an  Indian  path. 

#        #        # 

A  pleasant,  though  rigorous,  healthful  climate;  a  rich  soil;  both 
flat  and  rolling  ground;  forest  and  prairie;  and  an  altogether  favorable 
location  for  enjoyable  living,  the  pursuit  of  industrial  progress,  and  of 
happiness;  that  was  the  setting  for  Hinsdale's  origin,  growth,  and  pros- 
perity. Only  a  brief  three  hundred  years  ago,  amid  the  heavy  quiet 
that  must  have  enshrouded  this  rolling  countryside,  broken  only  by 
the  raucus  call  of  a  crow  or  the  eerie  whine  of  a  cougar,  this  setting 
was  in  its  primeval  state.  Eventually  the  paddle  of  a  white  man's  canoe 
made  little  whirlpools  in  the  still,  autumn  waters  of  the  Desplaines, 
and  this  region  began  to  stir  from  its  long  slumber. 


CHAPTER  II 


White  Pioneers 


LOUIS  JOLIET  and  Father  Jacques  Marquette,  after  exploring  the 
J  Mississippi,  returned  north  by  way  of  the  Illinois  River.  At  the 
large  village  of  the  Illinois  Indians,  mentioned  previously,  the  natives 
told  them  of  a  short  route  by  which  they  could  return  to  Lake  Mich- 
igan. This  was  in  the  month  of  September,  1673. 

After  paddling  up  the  Illinois  to  the  Desplaines,  they  ascended  the 
latter  stream,  traversing  the  southeast  corner  of  this  township,  to  the 
mouth  of  a  small  creek  emptying  into  the  Desplaines  at  a  point  about 
midway  between  the  present  towns  of  Riverside  and  Summit.  Pad- 
dling eastward  up  this  creek  a  distance  of  two  miles,  they  found  them- 
selves on  a  muddy  lake.  Pushing  on,  they  crossed  the  lake  to  its  eastern 
end,  from  where  the  party  carried  its  canoes  one  and  a  half  miles  over 
a  stretch  of  prairie  to  another  stream,  which  is  now  known  as  the  west 
fork  of  the  south  branch  of  the  Chicago  River. 

The  lay  of  the  land  which  made  this  portage  possible  is  most 
unusual  and  has  proved  of  far-reaching  significance  to  Chicago  and 
to  all  of  its  suburbs.  For  it  is  there  that  a  slight  ridge,  the  old  Tolleston 
Beach,  one  of  the  shore-lines  of  the  ancient  Lake  Michigan,  forms  a 
low  continental  divide,  which  was  the  shortest  land  barrier  to  a  com- 
plete water  route  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  with 
all  the  water  courses  and  their  tributaries  in  between.  On  one  side  of 
this  ridge,  rainfall  flowed  to  the  east;  on  the  other  to  the  west.  At 
times,  following  the  summer  rains  or  the  spring  freshets,  the  water 
levels  on  both  sides  of  the  ridge  would  meet,  enabling  the  crossing  to 
be  made  entirely  by  canoe  or  batteau.  In  the  drier  seasons  a  portage 
was  required,  but  at  all  times,  until  the  railroads  came,  this  was  the 
most  direct  route  between  Canada  and  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

It  was  largely  the  importance  attached  to  this  avenue  of  commerce 
that  led  the  United  States  Government  to  build  Fort  Dearborn,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River  in  1804.  For  many  centuries  the 
portage  had  been  used  by  the  natives  in  their  travels  and  migrations. 
For  over  a  hundred  years  it  was  crossed  by  Indians  and  whites  in  the 
fur  trade,  by  both  individual  traders  and  representatives  of  large  fur 


io  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

companies.  During  and  after  this  time,  the  agriculturists  made  use  of 
the  route.  After  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  better  and 
more  direct  forms  of  transportation  outmoded  the  old  portage,  but  its 
place  in  history  is  legibly  inscribed  as  the  channel  through  which 
Chicago's  commerce  first  began  to  flow. 

Had  it  not  been  for  this  shorter  portage,  the  large  center  of  popu- 
lation known  as  Chicago  probably  would  have  begun  its  growth  near 
the  longer  portage  between  the  St.  Joseph  and  Kankakee  Rivers,  pos- 
sibly at  Michigan  City,  and  Chicago  now  would  be  just  another  of  the 
small  cities  along  the  lake  shore,  with  no  suburbs  of  consequence. 
Forts  Miami  and  St.  Joseph  on  the  St.  Joseph  River  in  Michigan,  and 
Fort  Dearborn  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River,  were  all  built  to 
guard  portages.  The  portage  has  been  called  the  "efficient"  cause  of 
Chicago. 

A  part  of  Portage  Creek,  which  connects  the  Desplaines  with  Mud 
Lake  and  the  portage,  is  still  in  its  natural  state,  although  in  recent 
years  the  surface  of  the  land  on  both  sides  of  it  has  been  altered  con- 
siderably by  bull-dozer  and  power  shovel.  A  section  of  the  creek  that  is 
still  in  its  primeval  condition  can  easily  be  seen  by  driving  east  on 
47th  Street  to  Harlem  Avenue.  Turn  south  on  Harlem.  A  little  south 
of  the  Santa  Fe  viaduct,  on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  there  is  an  en- 
trance to  a  small  forest  preserve.  Within  this  entrance  a  broad  lawn 
leads  south  about  two  hundred  yards  to  Portage  Creek.  The  trees 
along  its  banks  have  never  been  cut,  and  probably  it  now  looks  much 
the  same  as  it  did  to  Marquette  and  Joliet  275  years  ago. 

In  1920-23  Robert  Knight  and  Lucius  H.  Zench,  for  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society,  made  a  painstaking  investigation  of  the  chronicles 
and  maps  of  various  explorers  and  surveyors,  from  Marquette  on  down 
through  the  19th  century,  in  order  to  locate  the  exact  route  of  the 
portage,  and  various  points  of  historical  interest  in  the  vicinity.  Their 
findings  were  presented  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Society  in  1923, 
and  are  now  available  in  a  book  entitled  The  Location  of  the  Chicago 
Portage  Route  of  the  Seventeenth  Century. 


If  any  spot  in  "Chicagoland"  can  be  called  the  first  "community," 
probably  it  is  Lyons;  or  at  any  rate  Lyons  was  born  simultaneously 
with  Chicago.  For  Lyons  was  situated  at  "le  portage,"  mentioned  in 


WHITE  PIONEERS  11 

early  French  writings,  not  as  a  town  or  hamlet,  but  as  a  way-station,  a 
meeting  place,  where  roads  converged.  Here  was  the  western  end  of 
the  portage,  and  here  also  the  main  trails  from  the  southwest  came  to- 
gether, continuing  on  eastward  into  another  well-traveled  way  to 
Lake  Michigan,  known  in  later  pioneer  days  as  the  Barry  Point  Road, 
running  diagonally  from  Lyons  to  Fort  Dearborn,  and  now  corre- 
sponding roughly  with  Ogden  Avenue  in  Chicago.  It  was  at  Lyons  that 
taverns  and  trading  posts  were  later  built.  Indian  chiefs  gathered  here 
for  their  "pow-wows,"  among  themselves  and  with  the  traders.  We 
can  imagine  that  this  also  was  a  way-station,  where  travelers  met;  an 
exchange  point  for  news  from  distant  places,  such  as  political  and 
military  news,  and  news  about  the  prices  of  pelts,  trapping  grounds, 
and  the  prevalence  of  game. 

At  Lyons  a  British  military  force  encamped  during  the  American 
Revolution.  In  1779  Charles  de  Verville,  a  French  Canadian  in  the 
English  service,  recruited  a  company  of  whites  and  Indians  at 
Mackinac  for  the  purpose  of  harrying  the  American  settlement  at 
Peoria.  He  camped  at  Lyons  on  the  way  down  and  possibly  on  his 
return. 

Origin  of  the  name  Lyons  is  unrecorded.  The  romantically  in- 
clined might  like  to  connect  it  with  the  city  in  France  of  the  same 
name,  but  the  early  French  always  referred  to  the  place  as  "le  por- 
tage." The  Chicago  Tribune  of  February  12,  1900  has  this  to  say  of 
the  community  after  white  settlement  of  this  area  had  begun: 

"Lyons  is  the  oldest  suburb  west  of  Chicago,  so  old  in  fact  that  all  its  first 
settlers  have  long  passed  to  their  reward,  and  with  them  has  gone  memory  of 
the  identity  of  the  sponsor  of  the  place,  if  it  ever  had  one.  Lyons  it  was  in  1830 
when  the  old  Buckhorn  Tavern  was  a  noted  hostelry  on  the  stage  road  from 
Fort  Dearborn  to  Joliet,  and  Lyons  it  has  persisted  in  being  through  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  time  and  expansion." 

"David  and  Bernardus  Laughton  are  known  to  have  settled  on  the  site  in  1827 
or  1828.  Elijah  Wentworth,  who  was  Chicago's  first  letter  carrier,  bringing  the 
mails  from  Fort  Wayne  before  there  was  any  post  office  in  Chicago,  went  to 
Lyons  in  1830  and  kept,  if  he  did  not  build,  the  Buckhorn  Tavern." 

This  tavern  was  on  the  Plainfield  Road,  southeast  of  Hinsdale. 
David  Laughton  had  a  trading  post  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Desplaines 
a  little  south  of  the  Chicago-Joliet  highway  bridge,  and  according  to 
S.  S.  Fuller,  historian  of  Riverside,  his  brother,  Bernardus,  operated 


12  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

an  inn  on  the  same  side  of  the  river  within  the  present  boundaries  of 
Riverside.  There  is  some  doubt  concerning  the  exact  location  of  these 
buildings,  excepting  David  Laughton's  trading  post.  A  depression  in 
the  ground  still  remains  as  evidence  of  its  excavation,  in  the  forest 
preserve  south  of  Lyons.  As  far  as  we  know,  these  were  the  first,  and  the 
nearest,  buildings  to  be  erected  by  white  men  within  the  vicinity  of 
Hinsdale. 

•U.  A'-  Ji. 

"a*  *?v"  "7r 

Aside  from  Lyons,  the  towns  in  Cook  County,  before  Du  Page  was 
set  apart,  were  Chicago,  Naperville,  Desplaines,  Brush  Hill,  Warren- 
ville,  Keepataw,  and  Thornton,  according  to  an  early  map.  The  area 
now  known  as  Du  Page  County  is  said  to  have  passed  through  a  series 
of  political  alignments;  to  have  been  a  part,  in  turn,  of  St.  Clair,  Madi- 
son, Crawford,  Clark,  Pike,  Fulton,  Peoria,  and  Cook  Counties,  before 
those  counties  were  reduced  in  size. 

Furthermore,  Du  Page  County  and  Hinsdale  came  very  close  to 
lying  within  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  instead  of  Illinois.  When  Wiscon- 
sin was  formed  in  1805  its  southern  boundary  passed  westward  from 
the  southern  tip  of  Lake  Michigan.  Organization  of  the  state  of  Illinois 
in  1818  brought  this  boundary  line  into  legal  dispute,  which  finally 
resulted  in  its  movement  farther  north.  The  case  of  the  state  of  Illinois 
was  based  on  the  circumstance  of  Chicago  serving  as  a  juncture  of 
waterways;  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  north  and  east,  and  the  Desplaines 
and  Illinois  Rivers  to  the  south,  and  with  a  new  canal  in  this  direction 
in  contemplation.  This  incident  is  further  reflection  of  the  significance 
of  the  old  Portage,  and  of  Chicago's  importance  as  a  center  of  trans- 
portation. 

The  year  1 830  is  not  so  very  long  ago,  and  yet  it  was  only  then  that 
the  land  of  this  area  began  to  be  used  for  farming.  Prior  to  1 830  north- 
ern Illinois  was  engaged  solely  in  the  fur  trade.  It  was  a  hunting  and 
trapping  ground,  with  some  lead  mining  done  on  the  side,  around 
Galena,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  state.  The  fur  trade,  from  its 
beginning  to  its  end,  was  big  business.  During  the  period  of  French 
occupation  it  was  administered  from  Quebec,  through  a  system  of 
highly  prized  outposts,  privileges,  and  concessions,  among  the  most  de- 
sired sources  of  supply  and  markets.  These  were  a  frequent  cause  of 
dispute  and  intrigue  between  the  Jesuits  of  France  and  her  empire 
builders. 


WHITE  PIONEERS  13 

When  the  British  influence  spread  westward,  starting  about  1760, 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  the  Northwest  Fur  Company  and  the 
Mackinac  Fur  Company,  all  English  controlled,  for  a  brief  span  of 
years  took  many  pelts  from  our  neighboring  woods  and  ravines.  Then 
came  John  Jacob  Astor  with  his  American  Fur  Company.  Astor  was 
instrumental  in  obtaining  the  passage  of  an  act  through  Congress 
which  prohibited  foreigners  from  engaging  in  the  fur  trade  within  the 
United  States,  and  this  gave  him  a  virtual  monopoly.  It  is  no  figment 
of  the  imagination  to  say  that  many  a  beaver,  otter,  and  bear,  trapped 
along  Salt  and  Flagg  Creeks  went  toward  the  purchase  of  Astor  real 
estate  in  New  York  City.  The  transition  from  furs  to  farming  was 
not  an  abrupt  one.  Gurdon  Hubbard,  the  well  remembered  pioneer 
trader  and  Chicago  business  man,  was  hauling  pelts  to  his  warehouse 
on  the  Chicago  River  when  Du  Page  became  a  county  in  1839,  and 
for  several  years  thereafter. 


Here,  as  in  other  parts  of  America,  exploration  and  trade  preceded 
settlement.  The  early  French  crossed  the  southeast  corner  of  Du  Page 
County  many  times  in  their  journeys  to  and  from  the  Chicago  Portage, 
as  did  hundreds  and  thousands  of  traders  who  followed  them,  through 
the  Portage,  and  over  the  early  trails  now  known  as  Ogden  Avenue, 
the  Plainfleld  Road,  and  the  old  Joliet  Road.  Even  La  Salle,  in  his 
notes,  mentions  a  few  traders  and  voyageurs  he  met  in  the  Illinois 
country  who  had  preceded  him  to  this  region,  men  who  passed  through, 
perhaps  many  times  but  left  no  record  of  their  journeys. 

Among  these  adventurous  commercial  travelers,  but  a  man  who 
came  long  after  La  Salle,  was  one  Du  Pazhe  now  spelled  and  pro- 
nounced "Du  Page,"  a  trapper  and  trader  who  set  up  his  establishment 
at  the  forks  of  the  two  branches  of  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  a  few 
miles  south  of  Naperville,  just  over  the  present  Will  County  line.  We 
know  little  of  Du  Page  other  than  the  facts  of  his  having  been  here,  and 
of  the  county  having  been  named  for  the  river  near  which  he  settled. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  an  agent  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  giving 
cutlery,  gunpowder,  trinkets,  and  cloth  to  the  natives  in  trade  for  bear, 
deer,  beaver,  and  other  pelts  which  were  carried  to  Mackinac  or  St. 
Louis  for  European  destinations.  Du  Page's  post,  in  1800  consisted  of 
a  number  of  buildings  surrounded  by  a  stockade,  around  which  gath- 


14  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

ered  the  Kickapoo,  the  Pottawattamie,  and  the  Fox,  ready  to  make 
their  trades.  Du  Page,  as  most  of  the  traders,  was  influential  with  the 
Indians  and  they  did  not  resent  his  presence. 

With  the  homesteader,  the  agricultural  settler,  it  was  a  different 
story.  Thirty  years  were  to  pass  before  the  first  venturesome  farmers 
began  to  erect  their  cabins  along  the  Du  Page,  the  Desplaines,  and  on 
Salt  and  Flagg  Creeks.  A  massacre  occurred  at  Fort  Dearborn  in  1812 
and  the  Indians  remained  hostile  toward  permanent  settlers.  A  hand- 
ful of  prisoners  who  had  survived  the  Fort  Dearborn  fight  had  been 
brought  out  to  Indian  villages  along  the  Fox.  English  and  French 
trappers,  the  "Sauganash,"  and  the  Couriers  du  bois,  were  still  free  to 
come  and  go,  as  they  always  had  been,  but  the  homesteader  was  not 
wanted,  and  he  was  slow  to  arrive.  Around  Fort  Dearborn  a  hamlet 
began  taking  shape,  and  mention  has  been  made  of  the  accommoda- 
tions for  travelers  at  Lyons  and  along  the  trail  to  Ottawa.  West  of  Lyons 
and  throughout  what  is  now  Du  Page  County,  there  was  no  inhabitant 
of  whom  there  is  a  record  until  the  year  1 829. 

In  that  year  Bailey  Hobson,  looking  for  a  new  home,  came  to  the 
Du  Page  River  district  from  North  Carolina,  on  horse-back.  He  chose 
a  plot  of  land  along  the  southern  reaches  of  the  Du  Page  River,  and  a 
year  or  two  later  brought  his  family  there.  In  1831  Joseph  Naper  came 
from  Ohio  by  boat  through  the  Great  Lakes.  Where  the  city  now  bear- 
ing his  name  has  grown,  he  built  a  cabin  and  a  trading  house.  His 
brother  John  followed  soon  after.  Hawley,  Blodgett,  King,  Strong, 
Murray,  Butterfield,  Stewart,  Landon,  Sweet,  Rogers,  and  Paine  are 
among  the  names  of  those  who  arrived  in  this  neighborhood  within 
weeks  or  months  after  Bailey  Hobson,  and  who  formed  the  first  com- 
munity of  settlers  within  the  present  boundaries  of  Du  Page  County. 
This  was  known  as  Naper's  settlement,  but  it  was  a  part  of  the  County 
of  Cook,  and  it  soon  fell  within  the  political  designation  of  "Scott's 
General  Precinct,  Flagg  Creek  District,  Cook  County,  Illinois."  # 

Mrs.  John  H.  Kinzie,  wife  of  the  well  known  trader  of  early  Chi- 
cago, in  her  book  Wau-Bun,  meaning  "the  early  day,"  has  left  a  picture 
of  this  countryside  as  it  was  in  the  winter  of  1 830.  She  and  a  small  party 
were  just  completing  a  journey  from  Detroit  through  the  lakes  to 


*  Some  local  historians,  and  the  pioneer  map  in  the  front  of  the  book,  indicate  Lisle  as  being 
the  "oldest  town"  in  Du  Page  County.  This  is  because  most  of  the  first  arrivals  built  their 
cabins  within  what  is  now  Lisle  Township.  In  the  early  1830's,  however,  that  area  was  con- 
sidered as  being  a  part  of  Naper's  settlement. 


WHITE  PIONEERS  15 

Wisconsin;  down  the  Fox  River  to  a  point  south  of  Aurora,  and  from 
there  across  country  to  Chicago  by  horse-back.  Here,  let  Mrs.  Kinzie 
tell  of  this  last  lap  of  her  trip: 

"A  long  reach  of  prairie  extended  from  Piche's  to  the  Du  Page,  between  two 
forks  of  which,  Mr.  Dogherty,  our  new  acquaintance,  told  us  we  should  find 
the  dwelling  of  a  Mr.  Hawley,  who  would  give  us  a  comfortable  dinner. 

"The  weather  was  intensely  cold;  the  wind,  sweeping  over  the  wide  prairie, 
with  nothing  to  break  its  force  chilled  our  very  hearts.  I  beat  my  feet  against 
the  saddle  to  restore  the  circulation  when  they  became  benumbed  with  the  cold 

.  Not  a  house  nor  a  wigwam,  not  even  a  clump  of  trees  as  a  shelter, 

offered  itself  for  many  a  weary  mile.  At  length  we  reached  the  west  fork  of 
the  Du  Page.  It  was  frozen,  but  not  sufficiently  to  bear  the  horses.  Our  only 
recourse  was  to  cut  a  way  for  them  through  the  ice.  (The  Du  Page  ordinarily 
is  a  shallow  stream  but  its  depth  varies  considerably.)  It  was  a  work  of  time,  for 
the  ice  had  frozen  to  several  inches  thickness  during  the  last  bitter  night.  Plante 
went  first  with  an  ax,  and  cut  as  far  as  he  could  reach,  then  mounted  one  of 
the  hardy  little  ponies,  and  with  some  difficulty  broke  the  ice  before  him  until 
he  had  opened  a  passage  to  the  opposite  shore. 

"How  the  poor  animals  shivered  as  they  were  reined  in  among  the  floating 
ice!  And  we,  who  sat  waiting  in  the  piercing  wind  were  not  much  better  off. 
Probably  Brunet  was  of  the  same  opinion:  for  with  his  usual  perversity  he 
plunged  in  immediately  after  Plante,  and  stood  shaking  and  quaking  behind 
him,  every  now  and  then  looking  around  him  as  much  as  to  say,  'I've  got 
ahead  of  you  this  time.'  We  were  all  across  at  last,  and  spurred  on  our  horses, 
until  we  reached  Hawleys,  a  large  commodious  dwelling,  near  the  east  fork 
of  the  river. 

"The  good  woman  welcomed  us  kindly,  and  soon  made  us  warm  and  com- 
fortable. We  felt  as  if  we  were  in  a  civilized  land  once  more.  She  proceeded 
immediately  to  prepare  dinner  for  us;  and  we  watched  her  with  eager  eyes,  as 
she  took  down  a  huge  ham  from  the  rafters,  out  of  which  she  cut  innumerable 
slices,  then  broke  a  dozen  or  more  of  fine  fresh  eggs  into  a  pan,  in  readiness  for 
frying— then  mixed  a  Johnnie  cake,  and  placed  it  against  a  board  in  front  of 
the  fire  to  bake.  It  seemed  to  me  that  even  with  the  aid  of  this  fine  bright  fire, 
the  dinner  took  an  unconscionable  time  to  cook;  but  cooked  it  was,  at  last, 
and  truly  might  the  good  woman  stare  at  the  travellers'  appetites  we  had 
brought  with  us.  She  did  not  know  what  short  commons  we  had  been  on 
for  the  last  two  days. 

"We  found,  upon  inquiry,  that  we  could,  by  pushing  on,  reach  Lawton's 
place  on  the  Aux  Plaines  (Desplaines)  that  night.  We  should  then  be  within 
twelve  miles  of  Chicago.  Of  course  we  made  no  unnecessary  delay,  but  set  off  as 
soon  after  dinner  as  possible. 

"It  was  almost  dark  when  we  reached  Lawton's.  The  Aux  Plaines  was  frozen, 
and  the  house  was  on  the  other  side.  By  loud  shouting  we  brought  out  a 
man  from  the  building,  and  he  succeeded  in  cutting  the  ice,  and  bringing  a 
canoe  over  to  us;  but  not  until  it  had  become  difficult  to  distinguish  objects 
in  the  darkness. 

"A  very  comfortable  house  was  Lawton's,  after  we  did  reach  it— carpeted, 
and  with  a  warm  stove— in  fact,  quite  in  civilized  style.  Mr.  Weeks,  the  man 


16  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

who  brought  us  across,  was  the  major-domo,  during  the  temporary  absence  of 
Mr.  Lawton. 

"Mrs.  Lawton  was  a  young  woman,  and  not  ill-looking.  She  complained 
bitterly  of  the  lowliness  of  her  condition,  and  having  been  'brought  out  there 
into  the  woods;  which  was  a  thing  she  had  not  expected  when  she  came  from 
the  east.'  We  did  not  ask  her  with  what  expectations  she  had  come  to  a  wild 
unsettled  country;  but  we  tried  to  comfort  her  with  the  assurance  that  things 
would  grow  better  in  a  few  years. 

"We  could  hardly  realize,  on  rising  the  following  morning,  that  only  twelve 
miles  of  prairie  intervened  between  us  and  Chicago  le  Desire,  as  I  could  not 
but  name  it." 

The  house  in  which  the  party  stopped  for  dinner  was  the  home  of 
Pierce  Hawley,  one  of  the  earliest  arrivals  in  this  area.  It  must  have 
been  located  near  the  east  branch  of  the  Du  Page  River,  on  the  west 
bank,  and  roughly  east  by  north  of  Oswego.  "Lawton's"  place,  on  the 
Desplaines,  where  the  party  spent  the  night,  was  the  tavern  of  Bern- 
ardus  Laughton,  trader  and  innkeeper,  who,  with  his  brother  David, 
was  mentioned  previously.  They  had  formerly  conducted  a  trading 
post  at  Hardscrabble,  the  pioneer  name  of  a  district  near  the  forks  of 
the  south  branch  of  the  Chicago  River.  It  is  probable  that  the  furnish- 
ings of  the  establishment  in  which  the  Kinzie  party  spent  the  night, 
including  ''carpets  and  a  warm  stove"  were  unusual  for  the  frontier  of 
that  period. 

Although  the  gathering  of  homesteaders  around  Naper's  settle- 
ment was  the  first  in  the  area  to  be  denominated  politically,  undoubt- 
edly there  were  many  other  persons  who  had  arrived  during  or  prior 
to  1831.  In  those  frontier  days  when  the  fundamental  requirements  of 
existence  occupied  so  much  thought  and  energy,  and  before  county 
governments  were  functioning,  the  keeping  of  statistics  was  altogether 
secondary.  With  so  much  desirable  land  between  the  Desplaines  and 
Naper's  settlement,  it  is  likely  that  a  dozen  or  more  settlers,  such  as 
Thomas  Covell,  mentioned  by  Harley  Mitchell  in  his  Early  Chicago, 
had  chosen  scattered  sites  in  the  Salt  Creek-Flagg  Creek  area  at  aboul 
the  same  time,  registered  with  no  precinct  and  with  no  record  of  their 
arrival  having  been  kept. 


chapter  in  Black  Hawk's  Threat 


IN  1 83 1  rumblings  along  the  Rock  River  were  heard  in  Cook  County; 
and  it  wasn't  thunder.  A  year  later  the  western  part  of  the  county 
was  to  be  touched  by  war. 

Black  Hawk,  sometimes  called  Black  Sparrow,  was  a  chief  of  the 
Sac,  or  Sauk,  tribe  having  its  principal  village  and  lands  on  the  Rock 
River,  near  its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi.  He  had  fought  with  the 
British  in  1812,  and  rose  to  his  position  of  authority  with  the  Sauks 
largely  through  his  ability  as  a  warrier. 

A  disagreement  arose  between  the  Indians  and  Whites  concerning 
the  site  of  the  Sac  village,  which  culminated  in  the  tribe  being  ejected 
and  removed  to  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  where  it  remained  for 
several  months.  During  this  time  Black  Hawk  made  plans  for  recaptur- 
ing title  to  his  home  territory  and  for  regaining  other  rights  which  he 
believed  due  his  people. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  he  wanted  to  avoid  open  conflict  if  his 
purposes  could  have  been  realized  through  conference  with  the  white 
authorities,  but  failing  in  this  he  was  ready  to  fight,  in  which  event  he 
looked  for  support  from  other  tribes.  His  strength  in  fighting  men, 
among  the  Sacs  alone,  was  not  formidable  enough  to  win  in  a  long 
struggle,  but  if  reinforced  by  the  comparatively  large  population  of 
Pottawattamie  of  the  Chicago  region,  their  confederates  the  Chip- 
pewa, and  by  the  Fox  and  the  Winnebagoes,  a  full  scale  conflict, 
during  which  scores  of  isolated  settlers  would  have  been  killed,  could 
easily  have  resulted.  The  settlers  were  scattered,  out-numbered,  and 
inferior  in  armaments  to  the  Indians,  who  had  become  well  equipped 
with  small  arms  over  the  years. 

So  Black  Hawk  counted  heavily  upon  support  from  the  other  na- 
tives. (He  had  been  assured  of  these  increments  to  his  forces  by  a  sly 
old  Indian  named  and  known  among  the  tribes  as  the  "prophet,"  who 
lived  at  the  place  now  called  Prophetstown.)  No  doubt  the  rank  and 
file  of  these  neighboring  tribes,  having  nursed  their  real  and  fancied 
grievances  against  the  whites  over  many  decades,  were  eager  to  fall 
in  line.  It  was  not  a  pleasant  outlook  for  the  settlers  along  Flagg  Creek. 

17 


18  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

At  this  point  in  our  story  there  enters  a  character  who  appears  to 
be  unique  in  the  annals  of  the  American  frontier,  an  Indian  Chief 
named  Shabbonee,  or  Shabbona,  as  he  was  called  by  the  whites.  A 
number  of  years  after  the  Black  Hawk  uprising,  General  Lewis  Cass 
introduced  this  chief  to  President  Van  Buren,  in  Washington,  with 
these  remarks: 

"Shabbona  is  the  greatest  red  man  of  the  West;  he  has  always  been 
a  friend  of  the  whites,  and  saved  many  of  their  lives  during  the  Black 
Hawk  War." 

Born  in  1775  on  the  Kankakee  River,  the  son  of  an  Ottawa  who 
had  fought  under  Pontiac,  Shabbona  joined  the  Pottawattamie  tribe, 
became  a  chief,  and  was  closely  allied  with  the  famous  Tecumseh,  until 
the  latter's  death  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames  in  1813.  From  then  on, 
Shabbona  displayed  traits  of  character  most  uncommon  for  an  Indian. 
He  visioned  the  day  when  the  whites  would  be  supreme  in  the  land 
and  he  saw  the  futility  of  resistance  to  white  expansion.  He  urged  his 
tribesmen,  for  their  own  good,  to  adopt  the  same  view.  Thus  as  moni- 
tor, as  well  as  commander  in  chief,  he  was  the  leader  and  spokesman 
for  all  the  Indians  of  the  Chicago  region,  at  the  time  these  events  were 
taking  place. 

It  was  in  this  spirit  that  he  had  argued  with  Big  Foot  at  Lake 
Geneva  to  dissuade  that  chief  from  war  in  1827.  Big  Foot  was  so  in- 
censed, he  threatened  Shabbona's  life  and  drove  him  from  the  village. 
Five  years  afterward,  and  again  in  the  role  of  conciliator,  Shabbona 
called  his  chiefs  together. 

Early  in  the  month  of  May  1832,  when,  according  to  the  frontier 
"grapevine,"  war  appeared  imminent,  the  Pottawattamies  held  a  meet- 
ing on  the  banks  of  the  Desplaines  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  on  the 
stand  the  tribe  should  take  in  the  event  of  hostilities.  Although  the 
exact  place  of  this  meeting  is  not  given  by  historians,  probably  it  was 
held  at  Lyons  because  so  many  trails  converged  there.  It  was  attended 
by  Shabbona,  chief  of  the  Pottawattamies,  by  Billy  Caldwell  and  Alex- 
ander Robinson,  two  half-breed  chiefs  of  the  same  tribe  whose  names 
are  mentioned  frequently  in  the  history  of  this  region,  and  by  the  wife 
of  David  Laughton  who  was  a  Pottawattamie  squaw. 

A  full  report  of  this  council  would  be  of  considerable  interest  now, 
but  like  so  many  happenings  of  the  past,  a  mere  statement  of  the  fact 
of  the  occurrence  is  nearly  all  we  have.  Nehemiah  Matson,  an  Illinois 


BLACK  HAWK'S   THREAT  19 

historian,  says  that  "after  some  deliberation  it  was  decided  to  remain 
at  peace.  But  many  of  these  Indians  had  ill  feeling  toward  the  settlers 
and  were  ready  to  raise  the  tomahawk  as  soon  as  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
commenced  hostilities."  Mrs.  Laughton  is  reported  to  have  remarked 
to  some  of  those  standing  by  that  some  of  her  people  were  with  Black 
Hawk  and  would  begin  to  raid  the  settlements  as  soon  as  he  gave 
the  word. 

While  this  meeting  on  the  Desplaines  was  in  progress,  the  first 
move  of  the  uprising  was  taking  form.  Out  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  Black  Hawk  was  gathering  his  followers,  his  warriors  and 
their  families  around  him,  to  lead  them  back  to  their  homeland  on 
the  Rock  River,  and  to  re-establish  themselves  on  their  former  lands, 
peaceably,  or  by  force.  When  his  band  landed  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  the  alarm  quickly  spread.  Governor  Reynolds  decided 
the  regular  army  contingents  in  the  state,  under  Brigadier  General 
Henry  Atkinson,  were  insufficient  to  cope  with  the  situation,  and 
quickly  called  for  volunteers.  Black  Hawk  did  not  stop  at  his  former 
village.  At  the  head  of  his  band  he  marched  on,  up  the  Rock.  At 
Dixon's  Ferry  (now  Dixon,  Illinois)  the  Indians  crossed  the  river, 
and  camped  a  few  miles  beyond. 

By  happenstance,  Major  Isaiah  Stillman,  with  240  volunteer 
militia,  out  on  a  reconnoitering  expedition,  was  likewise  encamped 
in  the  same  vicinity,  at  White  Rock  Grove,  in  Ogle  County.  Black 
Hawk  became  aware  of  his  enemy's  proximity,  but  he  was  not  intent 
on  a  fight  if  battle  could  be  avoided.  Instead,  he  sent  three  envoys  of 
peace  toward  Stillman's  camp.  These  messengers,  while  on  their  way, 
and  carrying  a  flag  of  truce,  met  a  platoon  of  Stillman's  soldiers,  who 
were  either  extremely  "green,"  drunk,  or  both.  The  soldiers  opened 
fire,  killing  two  of  these  emissaries  of  peace. 

This  incident  infuriated  the  Indian  Chief.  He  ordered  an  immedi- 
ate attack  on  the  white  force,  and  in  the  running  fight  which  followed, 
Stillman's  battalion  was  practically  annihilated.  The  Black  Hawk  War 
had  started. 

News  of  this  event  spread  rapidly  throughout  the  frontier.  Perhaps 
the  first  to  hear  it  were  the  other  Indian  tribes  and  their  leaders.  In  the 
jabbering  native  dialect  it  must  have  traveled  quickly  from  campfire 
to  village,  through  the  woods  and  over  the  prairies.  The  news  reached 
Fort  Dearborn,  and  it  was  heard  at  the  scattered  settlements,  including 


20  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

those  along  the  Du  Page  and  the  Desplaines.  According  to  one  writer, 
"The  story  of  Stillman's  defeat  inaugurated  a  reign  of  terror  between 
the  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  Rivers,  and  great  consternation  throughout 
the  entire  West."  Probably  the  Indian  victory  had  given  the  settle- 
ments an  exaggerated  impression  of  Black  Hawk's  immediate  numbers 
and  strength;  but  if  his  anticipated  allies  were  to  join  him,  as  many 
thought  they  would,  the  consternation  was  well  founded. 

Events  of  the  next  few  days  did  nothing  to  allay  the  general  appre- 
hension. On  Indian  Creek,  a  stream  which  empties  into  the  Fox  River 
about  ten  miles  above  its  mouth,  forty-five  miles  south-west  of  Hins- 
dale, fifteen  members  of  three  families  were  slaughtered  in  that 
fiendish,  exuberant  spirit  of  barbarity  of  which  the  American  Indian 
was  so  adept.  Rifle,  tomahawk,  hatchet,  and  club  were  used  in  this 
attack.  After  the  victims  fell  they  were  hacked  and  butchered.  Some 
were  strung  up  by  their  ankles  to  trees  or  cabin  roofs.  Two  daughters 
of  one  of  the  families,  Hazel  and  Rachel  Hall,  were  taken  captive  and 
carried  away  to  a  Winnebago  village  in  Wisconsin,  where  several 
months  later  they  were  ransomed  and  returned  to  their  friends.  A  few 
Pottawattamie  were  with  the  Sauks  in  this  massacre  at  Indian  Creek. 

Reverend  Hawley,  a  brother  of  Pierce  Hawley,  at  whose  house  Mrs. 
Kinzie's  party  had  stopped,  was  tortured  and  murdered  by  roaming 
Indians,  not  far  from  the  Hawley  home.  A  mile  or  two  from  Plainfield 
Adam  Payne  was  dragged  from  his  horse  and  beheaded.  Possibly  there 
were  other,  similar  depredations  near  by  that  have  gone  unrecorded. 

(Interestingly  enough,  the  name  of  Girty  appeared  on  the  Illinois 
frontier  of  these  times.  During  the  earlier  Indian  wars,  in  Kentucky 
and  Ohio,  the  name  of  Simon  Girty,  the  renegade  American  who 
helped  the  British  incite  the  Indians  against  the  settlements,  was  a 
household  word  used  by  parents  to  keep  their  children  quiet  at  night. 
According  to  Matson,  a  Mike  Girty  was  similarly  active  among  the 
natives  of  this  region  during  the  initial  phase  of  the  Sauk  uprising.  He 
is  said  to  have  been  present  at  the  torture  of  Reverend  Hawley,  but  to 
have  been  a  friend  of  Adam  Payne.  Unfortunately,  Mike  was  with  a 
group  of  Indians  who  found  Mr.  Payne's  head  a  few  days  after  it  had 
been  removed,  south  of  Plainfield.) 

Black  Hawk  was  not  sure  of  Shabbona,  but  he  thought  the  latter's 
sub-alterns,  together  with  the  general  war-like  sentiment  that  per- 
meated the  tribes,  would  win  him  over.  Then  too,  he  of  course  was 


BLACK  HAWK'S    THREAT  21 

encouraged  in  this  belief  by  his  recent  victory.  At  the  first  opportunity, 
he  sought  and  obtained  a  council  with  Shabbona. 

Never  since  then  has  Illinois  seen  a  meeting  such  as  this  one  that 
took  place  at  Paw  Paw  Grove,  near  the  head  of  Indian  Creek.  Accord- 
ing to  P.  A.  Armstrong,  one  of  the  chroniclers  of  the  uprising,  ''Black 
Hawk,  mounted  upon  his  favorite  milk-white  pony,  clad  in  the  red 
coat  and  epaulets  of  a  colonel  of  British  cavalry,  with  ponderous  sword 
and  belt,  came  trooping  into  the  Pottawattamie  village,  followed  by 
Neapope,  Pashepaho,  and  other  Sauk  chiefs,  at  the  head  of  the  entire 
band  of  braves  and  warriors,  accompanied  by  the  beating  of  tom-toms 
and  the  singing  of  their  war  songs."  On  the  other  side  of  the  council 
circle,  the  chief  of  the  Pottawattamie  sat  with  his  lieutenants  Wau- 
ponsee,  Shemenon,  Shaata,  and  Meaumese. 

Shabbona  flatly  told  Black  Hawk  that  his  people  would  not  join  in 
the  fight  against  the  whites,  "because  the  palefaces  will  raise  an  army 
whose  numbers  are  like  the  leaves  on  the  trees"  against  which  the 
Indians  no  longer  could  contend.  And  this  was  the  decision,  not  of  a 
pacifist,  but  of  a  shrewd  and  calculating  warrior;  the  one  who  had  taken 
over  command  at  the  Battle  of  the  Thames,  after  Tecumseh  had 
fallen.  Shabbona  could  not  speak  for  the  Fox  or  the  Winnebago,  but 
the  Pottawattamie,  the  Ottawa,  and  the  Chippewa  would  not  join 
in  the  uprising.  And  needless  to  relate,  from  that  time  on,  Shabbona 
and  Black  Hawk  were  implacable  enemies. 

There  still  was  danger  that  malcontents  among  the  Pottawattamie 
would  attack  the  settlers,  if  they  had  not  already  done  so.  In  view  of  this 
possibility  and  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  next  move  on  the  part  of  the 
Sauks,  Shabbona,  his  two  sons,  and  two  or  three  of  his  lieutenants  set 
out  on  their  ponies  to  warn  the  settlers  of  their  danger.  Up  the  ravines, 
across  the  prairie,  and  to  the  cabins  fringing  the  woods  and  along  the 
streams  rode  these  Mid- Western  Paul  Reveres.  They  called  at  Ottawa, 
at  Holderman's,  Hollenbeck's,  and  Walker's  Groves;  at  the  Big  Woods 
settlement  (Aurora),  at  Naper's  settlement,  and  as  far  east  as  the 
Desplaines  and  Fort  Dearborn.  Shabbona's  pony  gave  out,  and  he 
obtained  another  from  a  settler,  but  finally  the  mission  was  accom- 
plished. 

Immediately,  volunteer  companies  were  formed;  one  under  Joseph 
Naper,  called  the  Du  Page  Company,  and  another  was  recruited  at 
Fort  Dearborn.  General  Atkinson  ordered  a  company  stationed  at 


22  VILLAGE  ON  THE  COUNTY  LINE 

Joliet  to  proceed  to  Naper's  settlement,  to  build  a  fort  there.  It  was 
called  Fort  Paine,  in  honor  of  the  captain  of  that  company.  A  few  miles 
south  of  there,  at  Walker's  Grove,  a  rough  stockade  was  thrown  up 
around  the  cabin  of  one  Reverend  Beggs,  and  Beggs  became  the  name 
of  this  "fort." 

The  women,  children,  and  the  elderly  at  Naper's  and  at  Walker's 
settlements  were  transferred  to  the  fort  at  Chicago,  and  according  to 
one  historian  some  of  them  were  almost  intercepted,  near  the  site  of 
Hinsdale.  Out  where  the  old  Plainfield  Road  crosses  Flagg  Creek, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  southeast  of  the  village,  the  land  reaches  to 
considerable  heights  on  both  sides  of  the  tiny  stream.  Thick  woods  and 
underbrush  at  the  bottom  of  that  vale  would  make  it  an  excellent  spot 
for  an  ambush.  According  to  the  legend,  it  was  there,  where  the  trail 
crosses  the  creek,  that  a  band  of  Indians  lay  in  wait  for  the  refugees  from 
Fort  Beggs.  When,  however,  the  Indians  saw  the  settlers  approach 
under  military  escort,  they  decided  not  to  attack,  and  not  to  reveal  their 
presence. 

While  Fort  Paine  was  under  construction,  two  young  soldiers  of  the 
Joliet  company,  named  Brown  and  Buckley,  were  sent  with  a  wagon 
to  Sweet's  Grove  near  by  for  a  load  of  shingles.  As  they  approached 
their  destination,  Buckley  jumped  off  the  wagon  to  make  an  opening 
in  a  rail  fence  through  which  the  wagon  could  pass.  At  that  moment 
Brown  was  killed  by  three  rifle  balls  fired  from  a  nearby  thicket.  Buck- 
ley ran  back  to  the  fort  for  aid.  When  the  soldiers  arrived  at  the  scene 
of  the  shooting,  they  found  Brown's  body,  but  the  two  horses  were 
missing.  A  stone  in  the  Naperville  cemetery  now  marks  the  grave  of 
young  Brown. 

An  intermixture  of  tragic  and  amusing  events  took  place  in  this 
neighborhood  during  that  spring  and  early  summer  of  1832.  In  the 
midst  of  planting  their  crops,  the  farmers  had  to  choose  between  aban- 
donment of  their  lands,  or  remaining  and  running  the  risk  of  massacre. 
They  were  faced  with  both  the  imminence  and  the  doubtfulness  of 
war.  Dispatch  riders  frequently  passed  between  Fort  Dearborn  and 
points  to  the  west,  carrying  warnings,  pleas,  and  other  messages. 

Those  days  in  this  neighborhood  are  clearly  pictured  by  Mrs. 
Caroline  Strong,  wife  of  Robert  Strong,  a  member  of  the  Naper 
settlement,  in  a  letter  she  wrote  to  her  sister  back  East.  Her  letter 
follows: 


BLACK  HAWK'S   THREAT  23 

„,      ,        ,7     .,  Fort  Paine,  July  12th,  1832 

My  dear  Venilea,  J     ; 

Our  box  which  our  kind  friends  in  Ogden  sent  us  was  brought  to  this  place 
last  Monday.  It  came  safe  and  uninjured.  We  were  very  glad  of  &  thankful  for 
the  contents;  they  are  very  dear  on  account  of  their  being  sent  to  us  such  a 
distance  by  very  dear  friends.  We  were  disappointed  to  see  so  few  letters.  We 
think  it  a  pity  so  good  an  opportunity  was  not  better  improved.  I  did  indeed 
laugh  on  seeing  some  particular  things  which  you  in  your  extreme  kindness 
&  thoughtfulness  provided  for  me.  I  assure  you  I  have  no  present  use  for  them 
but  I  will  keep  them  a  while  *k  if  they  continue  to  be  useless  to  me  I  will  give 
them  to  some  of  my  richer  neighbors.  You  know  strange  things  happen  some- 
times &  I  am  not  sure  but  you  may  want  such  before  I  do.  I  expect  before  I 
see  you  (if  I  ever  have  that  pleasure)  you  will  be  as  (word  illegible)  as  (word 
gone)  light  can  make  you.  I  hope  you  will  make  a  good  choice  and  not  be 
disappointed  or  deceived.  I  hope  you  will  be  as  happy  and  contented  as  I  am, 
then  I  will  be  satisfied.  Married  or  not  do  come  to  see  me.  You  who  are  con- 
stantly surrounded  by  intimate  friends,  can  have  no  idea  how  I  (who  have  seen 
but  one  for  more  than  a  year)   do  long  to  see  you. 

I  was  glad  to  hear  that  you  continued  to  have  protracted  meetings  and  that 
exertions  are  making  for  the  conversion  of  sinners.  O,  that  a  faithful  devoted 
missionary  would  come  into  this  dark  corner  of  the  earth!  I  wish  this  for  my 
own  sake  and  for  the  sake  of  the  wicked  wretches  around  me.  You  cannot 
imagine  how  sin  and  iniquity  doth  abound  here.  It  is  enough  to  make  one 
shudder  to  see  how  the  Sabbath  is  spent  here,  particularly  by  the  soldiers 
stationed  here  (to  whom  we  have  given  about  one  hundred  tracts  this  week)  . 
Surely  here  the  "Harvest  is  great  but  the  labourers  few".  Here  is  a  wide  field 
for  some  missionary  to  labour  in.  'Tis  true  there  are  preachers  here,  but  they 
are  not  the  right  kind.  A  man  who  would  do  good  here  must  be  one  who  is 
willing,  for  Christ's  sake,  to  deny  himself  many  of  the  comforts  of  life,  the 
pleasures  of  society,  meekly  and  cheerfully  to  submit  to  the  derision  and  scoffs 
of  a  mocking  multitude.  We  want  just  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Sedgewick  here.  It 
is  thought  that  if  there  is  not  a  Protestant  church  formed  at  Chicago  very  soon 
there  will  be  a  Roman  Catholic  one.  There  are  some  good  people  here  &  some 
very  bad  ones. 

I  suppose  by  now  you  hear  much  said  of  the  present  affliction  of  this  State. 
How  eagerly  must  you  search  for  and  listen  to  all  the  news  concerning  us! 
How  your  affectionate  heart  must  beat  with  anxious  and  tender  solicitude  for 
the  fate  of  your  far  off  R.  8c  C.  who  are  really  in  the  midst  of  trouble!  I  tell  you 
I  am  tired  of  war  times  &  war  fare  Sc  I  guess  you  would  be  too  if  you  had  to 
live  as  I  do.  For  four  days  after  we  came  to  this  place  we  had  to  live  entirely 
out  of  doors  'tho  we  were  permitted  to  sleep  under  shelter.  Since  then  we  have 
had  a  comfortable  house.  There  are  2  small  rooms  &  six  families  to  occupy 
them.  There  are  twenty-two  children.  There  are  five  or  six  crying,  two  or  three 
scolding  almost  constantly  besides  all  the  rest  of  the  confusion  naturally  ex- 
pected in  such  a  place  as  this.  And  here  I  am  in  a  crazy  chamber  (in  the  midst 
of  this  confusion)  sitting  on  my  feet,  with  my  paper  on  a  chair,  scribbling  to 
you.  I  tell  you  this,  not  as  troubles  but  to  let  you  see  how  pleasantly  I  am  situ- 
ated! We  stayed  at  Chicago  nearly  four  weeks  when  thinking  we  should  be  as 
safe  at  home  as  there  we  ventured  to  return.  A  day  or  two  after  we  got  home 


24  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

General  Atkinson  sent  forty  of  his  men,  commanded  by  Captain  Paine,  to 
build  a  fort  8c  to  remain  at  this  place  which  is  four  miles  from  our  house. 
The  day  after  they  arrived  here  one  of  their  men  was  killed  by  hostile  Indians. 
The  wretches  after  scalping  him  escaped  with  a  span  of  horses.  They  had 
lurked  about  the  place  a  number  of  days  watching  the  road.  We  passed  within 
a  few  rods  of  them  on  our  return  from  Chicago.  If  we  had  had  horses  we  should 
probably  have  lost  our  lives  as  these  animals  seem  to  be  their  first  object. 
Where  they  find  two  or  three  men  alone  with  horses  they  are  sure  to  kill  the 
men  and  take  the  horses.  Where  there  is  no  danger  of  discovery  they  mangle 
them  in  the  most  horrid  manner.  Some  were  found,  their  heads  in  one  place 
and  bodies  in  another.  Some  with  their  eyes  picked  out  8c  noses  cut  off.  One 
man's  body  was  cut  to  pieces,  his  entrails  taken  out  and  wound  around  his 
neck.  One's  heart  was  taken  out  8c  cut  and  chewed  to  pieces.  But  our  unworthy 
lives  are  still  spared,  our  Heavenly  Father  has  delivered  us  from  dangers  seen 
and  unseen  whilst  our  neighbors  (literally  speaking)  have  fallen  victims  to 
the  blood  thirsty  savages.  Two  months  ago  we  were  quietly  pursuing  our 
labours,  thought  not  of  danger  or  interruption,  especially  from  such  a  quarter. 
But  what  a  contrast!  What  before  was  peace  8c  prosperity  was  suddenly  re- 
versed into  scenes  of  fear,  distress  8c  poverty.  Homes  were  deserted,  farms  left 
uncultivated,  large  droves  of  cattle  left  to  range  unmolested  their  boundless 
fields.  Now,  people  are  just  beginning  to  creep  out  of  their  hives  8c  tremblingly 
take  a  peep  at  their  old  homes  which  I  assure  you  do  not  look  as  though  they 
had  ever  been  inhabited  by  human  beings.  Some  houses  where  the  unfortunate 
owners  were  providentially  permitted  previously  to  escape,  were  visited  by 
Indians  8c  everything  destroyed.  It  was  not  carried  off  or  burned  but  left  in 
the  house  to  aggravate  and  distress  the  now  destitute  owners.  Good  furniture, 
iron  ware,  crockery  smashed  to  atoms,  clothing  and  bedding  torn  and  cut  to 
pieces.  Murdered  cats,  dogs  8c  hogs  lay  about  the  house.  Other  houses  with 
their  contents  were  burned.  I  never  before  realized  the  uncertainty  of  life  so 
much  as  at  present.  Never  before  did  I  feel  the  importance  of  living  every  day 
as  though  it  were  our  last  to  be  so  spent.  I  never  felt  so  little  desire  to  accumu- 
late worldly  riches  as  at  present.  I  look  abroad  upon  the  earth  covered  with  all 
that  is  lovely  8c  inviting  to  the  eye.  It  looks  mournfully  pleasant  but  emptiness 
8c  vanity  fear  8c  danger  seem  to  be  inscribed  upon  everything  I  behold.  In  imagi- 
nation I  visit  all  parts  of  the  earth.  I  find  war,  pestilence,  famine  or  discord  of 
some  kind  raging  throughout  the  whole  of  this  sin  abounding  world.  I  cast  my 
thoughts  upward  where  there  is  such  infinity  of  bliss,  such  abounding  never 
ending  happiness  awaiting  those  who  live  as  they  ought  to  8c  then  I  wonder 
why  poor  shortsighted  mortal  /  am  anxious  to  have  her  days  lengthened  out. 
Yet,  there  is  one  tie,  one  strong  tie  which  binds  me  to  earth.  There  is  one,  a 
frail  worm  like  myself  for  whom  &  with  whom  I  would  wish  to  live  still  longer. 
Here  is  human  nature!  With  this  desire  would  a  mere  nothing  in  the  shape  of 
a  man  wish  to  hurry  his  Maker,  counteract  His  Own  Almighty  Plans  8c  stoop 
to  the  gratification  of  his  desires  8c  wishes?  O,  pray  for  me  all  my  praying  friends 
that  I  may  be  enabled  to  say  from  the  heart  "My  Father,  Thy  Will  be  Done." 
If  I  am  not  deceived  I  feel  that  it  is  good  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord— I 
feel  sweet  confidence  in  commending  myself  to  him.  I  wish  to  put  all  my  trust 
in  him. 


BLACK  HAWK'S   THREAT  25 

It  is  thought  there  is  little  or  no  danger  about  here  at  present.  The  two 
young  ladies  who  were  taken  prisoners  by  the  Sac  Indians  were  ransomed  by 
the  Winnebagoes  &  assisted  by  them  in  getting  to  their  uncles.  Their  parents, 
brothers  8c  sisters  fell  victim  to  the  tomahawk  &  scalping  knife.  The  young 
ladies  said  they  were  well  treated.  A  young  Indian  Chief  was  calculating  to 
marry  one  of  them  as  soon  as  the  war  was  over. 

Tell  your  Ma  that  since  she  has  sent  me  some  "certain  small  furniture"  I 
would  like  to  have  her  remember  a  promise  she  used  to  make  to  me  when 
I  took  care  of  her  children  in  her  absence.  If  she  remembers  it  she  had  better 
select  one  or  two  of  the  best  nurses  out  of  the  family  8c  send  them  along.  I 
would  be  willing  to  make  her  think  it  was  time  to  fulfill  her  promise  if  I  knew 
that  would  bring  any  of  you  here.  Tell  F.  I  thank  her  for  her  letter.  I  will 
answer  it  in  a  year  or  two  if  I  have  an  opportunity  to  send  it.  I  must  bid  you 
good  bye  8c  say  a  few  words  to  Fidelia  in  answer  to  her  diverting  letter.  Write 
again  8c  do  not  forget  your  sincere  friend  &  sister 

Caroline  Strong 

On  the  margin  of  the  letter,  is  a  post  script  written  by  Robert 
Strong: 

"P.S.  Gen.  Scott  is  expected  to  march  with  his  troops,  in  the  course  of  a  day 
or  two  from  C.  against  the  Indians.  His  soldiers  are  recovering  of  the  cholera. 
Two  steamboats  have  arrived  loaded  with  troops." 

Mrs.  Strong,  like  Mrs.  Kinzie,  was  better  schooled  than  most  of  the 
pioneer  folk  of  their  times  and  her  letter  is  the  only  one  found  in 
Chicago  or  vicinity  giving  a  first  hand  personal  impression  of  those 
days  along  the  Du  Page. 


President  Andrew  Jackson  evidently  considered  the  Black  Hawk 
uprising  sufficiently  serious  to  warrant  the  services  of  one  of  his  best 
commanders,  for  in  the  early  summer  of  1832  he  ordered  General 
Winfield  Scott,  with  a  suitable  force,  to  the  scene  of  hostilities.  The 
contingent  came  West  by  steamboat,  an  innovation  in  that  day,  though 
the  boats  carried  sail  as  auxiliary  power.  While  on  their  journey 
through  the  lakes,  an  unexpected  and  violent  attack  of  the  Asiatic 
cholera  broke  out  among  the  troops.  This  was  a  new  disease  in  Amer- 
ica, which  had  filtered  down  from  Canada,  where  it  first  appeared. 
While  contending  with  this  epidemic,  the  force  landed  at  Chicago,  on 

July  9- 

In  regard  to  this  sojourn  into  the  West,  Winfield  Scott,  the  hero  of 
Lundy's  Lane,  Queenstown,  and  later  one  of  the  commanders  of  our 


26  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

expedition  into  Mexico,  makes  the  following  remarks  in  his  memoirs: 
"In  1832,  Indian  hostilities  of  some  magnitude  broke  out  against  the 
then  frontier  settlements  of  the  upper  Mississippi.  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral Atkinson,  a  dear  friend  of  the  autobiographer collected  such 

forces  as  were  at  hand— regulars  under  Colonel  Taylor,  with  a  much 
greater  number  of  Illinois  volunteers— and  marched  against  Black 
Hawk  and  his  -  -  Sacs  and  Foxes,  who  were  supported,  not  only  by  the 
sympathies,  but  material  secret  aid,  of  their  neighbors  the  Winnebago 
tribe.  As  the  example  of  Black  Hawk  was  likely  to  become  infectious 
among  many  other  Indians  in  that  quarter— Sioux,  etc.,  Scott,  who 
commanded  at  the  time  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  United  States,  was 
ordered  to  the  northwest,  with  a  respectable  number  of  regulars."  He 
goes  on  to  tell  of  the  cholera,  the  landing  at  Chicago,  and  of  subsequent 
events. 

The  troops,  considerably  reduced  by  disease,  soon  were  moved  to 
an  encampment  on  the  Desplaines  at  the  site  of  Riverside,  for  convales- 
cence, and  with  orders  to  proceed  northwestward  as  soon  as  the  men 
were  able  to  travel.  Scott,  with  three  members  of  his  staff,  immediately 
proceeded  in  two  wagons  over  the  road  we  call  Ogden  Avenue.  They 
arrived  at  Fort  Paine  (Naperville)  by  sun-down.  While  spending  the 
night  there  Scott  wrote  a  letter,  of  which  this  is  an  excerpt:  "I  am 
hastening  via  Dixon's  Ferry  and  Galena  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  or,  with 
three  officers,  to  join  Brig.  Gen.  Atkinson.  Colonel  Eustis  and  all  the 
well  men  will  follow  nearly  in  my  route  in  three  or  four  days.  The 
cholera  had,  on  my  leaving  Chicago  this  morning,  nearly  subsided." 
(Note  the  trip  from  Chicago  to  Naperville,  with  doubtless  a  stop  at 
the  encampment  on  the  Desplaines  River,  was  made  in  one  day.) 

When  the  main  body  of  troops  was  able  to  move,  it  marched  north- 
ward on  the  east  side  of  the  Desplaines  to  a  point  corresponding  with 
present-day  Maywood.  There  it  forded  the  river  and  took  a  trail 
through  Wayne  and  on  to  Beloit,  Wisconsin.  A  few  young  farmers  in 
the  Du  Page  district  served  as  teamsters  for  Scott's  force.  One  of  these 
was  Robert  N.  Murray,  who,  fifty  years  later  was  Judge  of  Du  Page 
County. 

Over  the  years  we  have  heard  the  legend  in  Hinsdale  of  "Scott's 
army  passing  through  Fullersburg,"  and  possibly  some  of  it  did  pass 
this  way  on  the  return  journey  after  Black  Hawk  was  defeated;  but  the 
force  did  not  return  as  a  unit.  As  often  happens  after  military  opera- 


BLACK  HAWK'S   THREAT  27 

tions,  Scott's  army  came  back  in  disconnected  groups.  In  fact,  a  few  of 
the  soldiers  who  retained  their  health  did  not  return  at  all.  They 
decided  to  settle  in  Wisconsin  or  in  Illinois. 

Those  families  from  the  Desplaines  valley  who  went  to  Fort  Dear- 
born for  protection  had  a  disagreeable  time  of  it.  The  Fort  was  so 
crowded  that  most  of  them  camped  out,  in  the  vicinity.  The  Clybourns, 
a  pioneer  Chicago  family,  and  others,  furnished  the  refugees  with  food 
while  they  were  there,  but  as  time  went  on,  the  refugees  began  return- 
ing to  their  settlements,  especially  when  Scott's  troops  arrived  with 
the  cholera. 

The  question  might  be  asked:  "How  did  General  Scott  know,  in 
those  days  before  the  telegraph,  what  the  situation  was  out  on  the  fron- 
tier, and  what  direction  he  should  take  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy?"  The 
answer  is  found  in  a  small  group  of  fleet-footed  scouts  who  surveyed 
the  field  for  the  General,  way  beyond  the  Fox  River,  and  returned  to 
headquarters  before  the  army  began  to  move. 

The  news  they  brought  was  most  reassuring.  Black  Hawk's  band 
was  in  full  retreat,  and  was  in  fact  crossing  the  Wisconsin  border,  with 
Generals  Dodge  and  Henry  in  pursuit,  at  the  time  Scott's  force  began 
its  march.  On  August  2nd  at  the  battle  of  Bad  Axe  in  southern  Wiscon- 
sin, which  almost  degenerated  into  a  massacre,  the  last  serious  obstacle 
to  white  settlement  in  the  Middle  West  was  voided. 

Thus  the  Black  Hawk  uprising,  for  this  neighborhood,  was  a  threat 
rather  than  a  war.  The  conflict  is  remembered  for  the  turmoil  it  caused, 
and  for  certain  participants  who  were,  or  later  became,  prominent. 
Aside  from  Winfield  Scott  and  Henry  Atkinson,  there  were  these 
among  the  Federal  troops  and  volunteer  militia:  Abraham  Lincoln, 
Jefferson  Davis,  Zachary  Taylor,  Robert  Anderson,  and  Henry  Dodge. 
A  resident  of  Brush  Hill,  (later  called  Fullersburg,  and  now  a  part  of 
Hinsdale)  was  a  member  of  Joe  Naper's  volunteer  Du  Page  Company. 
His  name  was  Sherman  King.  A  relative  of  General  Scott  now  lives  in 
Hinsdale,  in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Willis  L.  Blackman. 

Before  leaving  that  episode,  which  had  its  bearing  upon  the  history 
of  this  locality,  there  is  one  tribute  that  cannot  be  over-looked,  a 
recognition  of  the  services  of  the  Indian  Shabbona.*  Let  the  tribute 
be  given  by  Gurdon  Hubbard,  one  who  knew  him  well:  " —  From  my 


*  But  for  him,  Black  Hawk's  threat  could  have  been  a  stark  reality,  especially  for  those  in 
this  neighborhood  where  the  Pottawattamie  dwelt  in  such  large  numbers. 


28 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


first  acquaintance  with  him,  which  began  in  the  fall  of  1818,  to  his 
death,  I  was  impressed  with  the  nobleness  of  his  character.  He  was  ever 
a  friend  to  the  white  settlers,  and  should  be  held  by  them  and  their 
descendants  in  grateful  remembrance." 


Chicago  Historical  Society  Photo 

He  kept  trouble  away  from  Robert  Strong,  Thomas  Covell, 
and  their  neighbors. 

Evidently  the  photographer  thought  it  appropriate  for  Shabbona  to  be  holding 
a  bow  and  arrow,  a  weapon  his  generation  had  discarded. 


chapter  iv  Settlement  Under  Way 


To  this  new  land,  like  a  new  sun 
They  came  in  days  now  long  since  gone 
And  like  the  silver  spears  of  light 
That  drive  the  sable  hosts  of  Night 
They  ushered  in  Du  Page's  dawn. 

—From  Ode  to  Old  Settlers  of  Du  Page  County 

AS  MIGHT  BE  EXPECTED,  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk  up- 
L  rising  heralded  a  flow  of  migration  to  Cook  County,  including 
as  it  then  did,  Du  Page,  Will,  and  Lake  counties.  The  danger  had  gone, 
the  land  was  fertile,  climate  agreeable,  and  Chicago  was  just  beginning 
to  give  indication  of  its  commercial  potentialities.  An  inviting  land 
finally  was  opened  to  eager  immigrants. 

At  first  the  newcomers  arrived  mostly  from  other  states,  largely 
from  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Kentucky,  in  the 
order  given.  Soon,  this  interstate  migration  was  supplemented  by  those 
coming  from  foreign  lands.  The  foremost  countries  from  which  they 
came  were  Germany,  England,  France,  Ireland,  British  America, 
Sweden  and  Norway,  Switzerland,  Scotland,  and  Denmark. 

The  first  settlers  to  be  recorded  in  Downers  Grove  Township,  the 
township  in  which  Hinsdale  is  situated,  were,  according  to  Richmond's 
History  of  Du  Page  County,  Pierce  and  Stephen  Downer,  a  Mr.  Wells, 
a  Mr.  Cooley,  and  Horace  Aldrich.  In  addition,  there  was  John  J. 
Monell,  "a  land  speculator  and  settler"  who  purchased  from  the  Gov- 
ernment in  1830  the  original  tract  that  now  comprises  most  of  Claren- 
don Hills. 

With  a  rapid  increase  in  population  from  this  time  forward,  the 
economy  of  the  area,  its  centers  of  population,  and  its  political  align- 
ments began  to  take  form.  Soon  after  Naperville,  the  settlements  of 
Warrenville,  Brush  Hill  (Fullersburg),  Downers  Grove,  Winfield, 
Du  Page  Center  (Glen  Ellyn),  Babcock's  Grove  (Lombard),  Addison, 
Cass,  Cottage  Hill  (Elmhurst),  and  Bloomingdale,  in  the  approximate 
order  of  their  settlement,  came  into  being.  Then  Itasca,  Western 
Springs,  Hinsdale,  Roselle,  Clarendon  Hills,  and  Bensenville  started 
to  grow.  Each  little  community  had  its  reason  for  being  there,  these 

29 


30  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

reasons  relating  to  fertility  of  the  soil,  attractiveness  of  the  surround- 
ings, or  transportation  facilities.  Proximity  to  transportation  in  most 
instances,  however,  was  the  locus  casus  of  nearly  all  these  towns.  Brush 
Hill  and  Naperville  were  on  the  southwest  highway.  Bloomingdale  and 
Addison  found  the  northwest  highway  convenient.  Elmhurst,  Lom- 
bard, and  Glen  Ellyn  grew  up  on  the  old  St.  Charles  Road.  When  the 
railroads  were  built,  the  four  lines,  now  running  suburban  trains 
through  the  county,  roughly  paralleled  old  highways,  serving  villages 
already  established,  and  brought  new  towns  into  being  along  the  rails. 

For  many  years  the  first  settlers  to  arrive  here,  and  throughout 
northern  Illinois,  were  plagued  with  troubles  concerning  the  claims  to 
their  land.  Most  of  the  land  had  not  been  surveyed  before  the  home- 
steader arrived  and  the  survey  at  the  time  of  making  claim  often  was 
crude  and  inaccurate.  So  many  a  family  found,  after  having  lived  on  the 
property  for  a  year  or  two,  that  its  claim  overlapped  the  claim  of  an- 
other, or  vice-versa.  This  state  of  affairs  was  further  aggravated  by  the 
presence  of  numerous  speculators  or  "land  sharks"  throughout  the 
frontier.  Claim  protection  societies  were  organized  in  the  county  in 
order  that  their  members  might  protect  themselves  in  their  claims 
until  the  Government  surveys  were  completed.  The  foremost  of  these 
was  the  Big  Woods  Claim  Society.  These  groups  did  much  to  bring 
order  out  of  chaos  in  the  matter  of  title  to  the  surrounding  land. 

Later,  a  county  agricultural  society  was  formed,  "to  promote  a 
friendly  intercourse  among  the  citizens,  as  well  as  improvement  and 
enterprise  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  the  raising  of  stock,  and  the 
manufacture  of  useful  farming  and  household  utensils."  This  organi- 
zation sponsored  county  fairs,  the  first  two  of  which  were  held  at 
Naperville,  the  third  at  Wheaton.  Its  minute  book  now  rests  in  a  glass 
case  in  the  Wheaton  Court  House. 

The  first  arrivals  built  their  cabins  along  the  fringes  of  the  woods, 
and  near  a  stream  too,  wherever  such  combined  advantages  could  be 
found.  Timber  was  useful  as  fuel,  for  fence  building,  furniture,  and 
many  other  purposes.  The  sinking  of  wells  was  not  easily  accomplished 
during  those  early  years,  and  water  was  needed  for  both  the  household 
and  the  live  stock.  Prairie  land  was  the  least  wanted,  but  it  too  was 
claimed,  after  the  more  desirable  sites  had  been  occupied.  The  first 
settlers  in  this  county  were  representative  of  the  typical  American 
pioneer;  honest,  hard  working,  close  to  the  soil.  The  frontier  for  many 


SETTLEMENT    UNDER    WAY  31 

years  was  rugged,  unpoliced,  and  lonesome,  but  not  entirely  devoid  of 
amusements  and  community  events. 

The  year  1835  saw  a  mass  exodus  of  the  Indians  from  this  area.  By 
treaty,  and  by  persuasion  in  one  form  or  another,  the  Pottawattamie 
and  their  tribal  associates  agreed  to  leave  this  part  of  Illinois  for  lands 
beyond  the  Mississippi.  On  the  appointed  day,  they  gathered  in  large 
numbers  in  the  vicinity  of  Lyons.  There  Colonel  J.  B.  F.  Russell  met 
with  Chiefs  Caldwell,  Robinson,  and  La  Fromborse  to  make  final  ar- 
rangements for  the  journey.  The  long  procession  passed  through  Brush 
Hill,  and  after  several  days,  the  new  home  at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  was 
reached.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  these  tribes  later  were  removed 
from  there  to  Kansas  where  they  prospered  better  than  most  Indians  do 
on  the  reservations.  Shabbona  eventually  returned  to  his  grove  near 
Ottawa,  and  Alexander  Robinson  to  his  farm  on  the  Desplaines. 

Preoccupation  with  settlement,  the  establishment  of  farms,  means 
of  transportation  and  markets  for  their  produce  probably  was  the  cause 
of  a  delayed  interest  in  politics  and  political  subdivisions  on  the  part  of 
Du  Page  and  Salt  Creek  settlers,  but  as  the  population  increased,  these 
additional  precincts  were  formed: 

NAPERVILLE  DEERFIELD  DU  PAGE 

WEBSTER  WASHINGTON  BIG  WOODS 

ORANGE 

The  area  of  Brush  Hill  fell  within  the  Washington  Precinct. 

It  was  at  about  this  time,  before  1 840,  that  the  proposal  arose  of 
separating  this  area  from  Cook  and  of  creating  a  new  county.  But  there 
was  opposition  to  the  move,  in  one  of  the  local  Precincts  at  least,  as 
indicated  in  the  following  story  found  in  the  Daily  Chicago  American 
of  December  5,  1835: 

"A  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Cook  County,  convened  at  the  house  of  Capt. 
Joseph  Naper  on  the  21st.  day  of  Nov.  1835,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  and 
acting  upon  the  proposed  erection  of  a  new  county,  to  be  composed  in  part 
from  a  portion  of  the  territory  to  be  taken  from  this.  Capt.  Joseph  Naper 
was  called  to  the  chair,  and  William  Smith  and  George  W.  Lard,  chosen  as 
Secretaries.  The  object  of  the  meeting  having  been  stated  from  the  chair,  it 

was 

Resolved,  that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  by  the  chairman,  to  pre- 
sent to  the  meeting,  resolutions  expressive  of  their  sense  of  the  proposed  divi- 
sion of  the  County  of  Cook— when  Nathan  Allen  Jr.,  Stephen  J.  Scott,  and 
William  Smith,  were  appointed  such  committee. 


32  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

The  committee,  by  their  chairman,  reported  the  following  preamble  and 
resolutions,  which  were  adopted  unanimously, 

Whereas,  a  new  attempt  is  now  making  to  divide  the  County  of  Cook,  with 
the  view  to  the  erection  of  a  new  county,  by  which  the  interests  and  conveni- 
ence of  many  of  the  good  citizens  of  our  said  County  would  be  seriously  and 
injuriously  affected:  and  whereas  the  period  has  not  yet  arrived,  when  the  im- 
portant business  sites  are  sufficiently  developed  to  designate  the  permanent 
location  of  the  public  buildings  required  by  such  new  organization:  and 
whereas  most  of  us  are  but  planted  upon  the  soil,  and  upon  unsurveyed  lands, 
very  illy  prepared  to  contribute  beyond  the  current  expenses  of  our  families: 
and  whereas,  the  public  interest  does  not,  in  our  judgment,  in  any  sense  require 
any  new  seat  of  justice  in  this  section  of  our  State,  nor  any  new  corps  of  public 
officers  to  administer  our  laws,  or  fatten  upon  our  property:  and  whereas,  we 
are  so  connected  with  our  present  seat  of  justice  by  the  common  and  necessary 
business  relations  of  life,  as  materially  to  mitigate  the  inconveniences  and  lessen 
the  expenses  incident  to  the  discharge  of  public  duties  in  infant  communities: 
and  whereas  we  cannot  but  view*  this  renewed  attempt  to  divide  our  territory, 
and  draw  us  away  from  our  chosen  and  convenient  channels  for  the  trans- 
action of  public  business,  to  places  unconnected  to  us  by  any  natural  or  im- 
portant business  relations,  to  be  premature,  and  prompted  by  a  spirit  of  self- 
ishness, alike  regardless  of  the  public  good  or  general  convenience.  Therefore 
Resolved,  That  we  firmly  and  unyieldingly  oppose  said  project  by  every  lawful 
and  honorable  weapon  in  our  power. 

Resolved,  that  we  will  protest  against  the  passage  of  any  law  setting  off  any 
part  of  Cook  County,  as  at  present  impolitic  and  uncalled  for. 

Resolved,  that  we  recommend  to  our  fellow  citizens  of  the  different  precincts, 
to  express  their  views  upon  the  subject  before  us. 

Resolved  that  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  published  in  both  the 

newspapers  printed  in  Chicago." 

Joseph  Naper,  Chairman 

W.  Smith     )    c        ,     . 
_,    TAT  T         V  Secretaries 
G.  W.  Lard^ 

Editorially,  the  Chicago  American  pronounced  the  conclusion 
drawn  at  the  meeting  as  being  "just  and  satisfactory."  The  necessity 
of  dividing  Cook  County  was  deemed  not  yet  to  exist,  and  it  was 
thought  that  Cook  County,  undivided,  would  have  a  stronger  repre- 
sentation in  the  Legislature. 

About  a  year  after  this  protest  meeting  at  Naperville,  the  Demo- 
cratic party  of  Cook  County  held  its  first  convention.  The  location  of 
this  gathering,  remembered  as  the  Flagg  Creek  Convention,  was  on 
the  Plainfield  Road,  near  Flagg  Creek,  at  the  combined  tavern  and 
post  office  operated  by  Joseph  Vial.  It  was  not  far  from  another  tavern, 
the  one  owned  by  Elijah  Wentworth,  brother  of  Chicago's  first  mayor. 
Delegates  came  on  horseback  and  in  wagons  from  all  over  the  vast 


SETTLEMENT    UNDER    WAY  33 

territory  then  comprising  Cook  County.  The  taverns  could  not  have 
held  them  all,  so  it  must  have  been  partly  a  camp  meeting.  This  event 
serves  as  evidence  that  there  was  quite  a  settlement  to  the  southeast  of 
us  at  that  time.  The  settlement  later  gave  rise  to  the  Lyonsville  Church, 
still  to  be  seen  at  the  juncture  of  Wolf  and  Joliet  Roads.  Descendants 
of  Joseph  Vial  now  reside  in  La  Grange. 

Although  there  was  local  sentiment,  as  well  as  sentiment  in 
Chicago,  toward  retention  of  the  status  quo,  as  far  as  county  boundaries 
were  concerned,  we  know  that  four  years  later,  in  1839,  Du  Page 
County  finally  was  set  apart  as  a  separate  political  entity.  The  reason 
for  this  rather  quick  change  of  opinion  is  not  clear  unless  it  merely 
reflected  the  growth  of  the  region,  which  was  more  rapid  than  had  been 
expected.  Whatever  the  cause,  the  local  people  did  change  their  minds, 
and  the  petition  for  division  was  granted  by  the  Legislature.  The 
Chicago  America?!  of  May  8,  of  that  year  published  the  result  of  the  first 
county  election,  and  had  this  to  say  editorially  concerning  the  new 
division: 

"We  sincerely  hope  that  the  new  county  will  learn  somewhat  wholesome  les- 
sons from  its  mother  Cook,  and  shun  its  follies,  while  it  emulates  (if  any  it  can 
find)  its  virtues,  let  it  avoid  if  possible,  its  debts  and  embarrassments;  let  it 
strive  to  keep  its  orders  in  good  credit  and  at  par.  The  law  which  creates  it, 
secures  a  good  fitting  out  for  public  buildings.  Under  the  management  of  faith- 
ful and  intelligent  commissioners,  we  wish  it  all  desirable  prosperity." 

The  first  county  election  soon  followed,  and  the  political  parties 
which  presented  their  candidates  to  the  voters  were  the  Whig  Party 
and  the  Loco-Foco  Party.  The  offices  voted  upon  were  those  of  Sheriff, 
County  Commissioners  (6),  Clerk  of  the  Court,  Treasurer,  Probate 
Justice,  Surveyor,  and  Coroner.  The  Whigs  were  completely  vic- 
torious, carrying  the  majority  for  every  office.  The  term  "Loco-Foco" 
was  applied  to  what  later  became  the  Democratic  Party,  or,  initially  to 
members  of  that  party.  The  name  had  its  origin  in  New  York.  The 
Whigs  were  the  forerunners  of  the  Republicans. 

News  from  the  surrounding  counties  was  given  considerable  prom- 
inence in  the  Chicago  newspapers  of  those  days.  Then,  there  was  not  so 
much  difference  in  size  between  Chicago  and  other  towns,  and  the  tele- 
graph had  not  arrived  to  bring  news  quickly  from  more  distant  places. 

Another  event  in  the  lives  of  the  pioneers  was  the  "general"  wolf 
hunt,  participated  in  by  large  numbers  of  people.  Richmond,  in  his 


34  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

history  of  the  county,  quotes  an  early  citizen  of  Downers  Grove,  giving 
a  description  of  a  hunt  which  occurred  during  the  1 840's.  Parts  of  the 
description  follow: 

"Until  within  a  few  years  this  part  of  the  country  was  infested  with  wolves, 
which  were  a  source  of  great  annoyance  to  the  whole  community.  The  farmers, 
however,  were  the  principal  sufferers  by  their  depredations;  for  sometimes 
whole  flocks  were  destroyed  and  scattered  by  them  in  a  single  night.  To  rid 
the  country  of  these  mischievous  animals  it  was  the  custom  for  all  who  were 
able  to  'bear  arms',  to  rally  once  every  year  for  a  wolf  hunt,  which  was  usually 
a  scene  of  much  amusement,  and  oftentimes  of  most  intense  excitement.  These 
expeditions  were  conducted  in  various  ways.  The  general  hunt,  which  was 
perhaps  the  most  common,  was  conducted  upon  the  following  plan: 

"Notice  of  the  time  of  starting,  the  extent  of  country  to  be  traveled  over, 
and  the  place  of  meeting,  which  was  usually  at  the  common  center  of  the  circle 
of  territory  to  be  traversed,  was  first  given  to  all  the  participants  in  the  hunt. 
At  an  early  hour  on  the  morning  of  the  day  appointed  the  hunters  assembled 
and  chose  a  captain  for  each  company,  whose  duty  it  was  to  station  members 
of  the  company  at  short  intervals  on  the  circumference  of  the  circle  alluded 
to,  and  then  the  game  was  completely  surrounded.  At  a  given  time  the  line 
of  hunters  began  their  march,  and  when  they  had  approached  near  enough 
to  the  center  to  close  in  and  form  a  solid  line,  they  halted  and  remained  sta- 
tionary, while  the  captains  advanced  with  their  sharpshooters  to  ascertain 
whether  any  game  had  been  surrounded." 

We  are  told  that  as  many  as  sixty  wolves  were  known  to  have  been 
ensnared  in  this  way  during  a  day's  hunt.  Unfortunately,  deer  too  were 
often  among  them,  and  usually  were  shot,  along  with  the  wolves.  These 
hunts  were  conducted  on  foot  or  on  horse-back. 

No  American  custom  has  its  roots  more  thoroughly  entwined  in  our 
history  and  tradition  than  is  found  in  the  Fourth  of  July  celebration; 
and  no  American  locality  has  observed  this  day  more  faithfully  or  more 
appropriately  than  our  immediate  neighborhood  from  pioneer  times 
to  the  present. 

The  celebrations  were  different  in  the  earlier  period.  Fireworks,  as 
we  know  them,  were  not  manufactured;  addresses  broadcast  over  the 
air  were  a  long  distance  off;  parades,  with  decorated  floats  were  con- 
fined to  only  a  few  of  the  larger  cities.  There  were  no  carnivals  with 
booths  and  amusement  devices.  But  the  frontier  Fourth  of  July  was 
none-the-less  an  institution  for  the  people  who  engaged  in  it,  and  they 
gave  up  the  greater  part  of  the  day  for  the  observance,  because  it  often 
involved  a  journey  of  several  miles  to  the  farm  of  some  neighbor  where 
the  celebration  was  held.  Invitations  were  issued  to  relatives  and 


SETTLEMENT    UNDER    WAY  35 

friends.  Speeches  were  prepared;  and  so  was  a  large  home-cooked 
dinner,  to  be  eaten  out  of  doors. 

Mr.  Horace  Aldrich,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  this  township 
held  such  a  celebration  at  his  farm  house  out  on  Ogden  Avenue  in  the 
year  1839,  and  it  was  reported  in  the  Chicago  American  on  July  19  of 
that  year.  This  newspaper  account  is  given  here  almost  in  full  because 
in  its  quaint  way,  it  paints  such  a  clear  picture  of  the  Fourth  celebra- 
tions of  that  era: 

FOURTH  OF  JULY 
DU  PAGE  COUNTY  CELEBRATION 

"A  numerous  company  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  assembled  on  the  4th  of  July, 
at  the  house  of  Horace  Aldrich  to  celebrate  that  eventful  day;  and  although 
the  notice  given  was  short,  the  number  attending,  their  smiling  faces,  the 
spirited  ceremonies,  and  the  cheer  of  our  host,  left  nothing  to  be  desired. 

The  company  walked  in  procession  to  a  neighboring  grove,  where  the  com- 
mittee had  made  arrangements  for  their  reception.  The  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence was  read,  in  a  style  peculiarly  fitting  that  important  document,  by 
John  W.  Walker,  Judge  of  Probate.  The  oration  was  delivered  by  James  C. 
Hatch,  Esq.,  in  which  he  enforced  the  propriety  of  commemorating  the  'Glori- 
ous Fourth'  by  pointing  out  the  lessons  it  should  teach,  the  advantage  gained, 
and  by  contrasting  and  showing  our  celebration  of  that  day  to  proceed  from 
causes  and  principles,  to  which  the  celebrations  of  the  most  enlightened  na- 
tions, ancient  or  modern,  ought  not  be  compared. 

The  ceremonies  being  completed,  the  company  returned  in  the  same  order 
and  sat  down  in  the  garden  to  a  dinner,  the  excellence  of  which  was  acknowl- 
edged by  the  ample  justice  done  by  all  to  the  abundance  of  good  things  pro- 
duced. S.  M.  Skinner,  Esq.,  was  President,  and  N.  B.  Moreton  Vice-President. 
The  following  toasts,  among  others,  were  proposed. 

REGULAR  TOASTS 

1.  The  day  we  celebrate— Consecrated  by  the  noble  daring  of  gallant  hearts, 
in  defense  of  Freedom,  Home,  and  Country,  may  it  ever  be  observed 
3  cheers. 

2.  The  fifty-six  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence— The  heaviest 
fifty-six  the  world  ever  saw;  the  whole  strength  of  Great  Britain  could 
not  move  them.  6  cheers. 

3.  Washington  the  father  of  his  country. 

4.  The  President  of  the  United  States. 

5.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

6.  The  heroes  of  the  Revolution. 

7.  Our  Country. 

8.  The  State  of  Illinois. 


36  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

9.  The  Internal  Improvements.  The  vessel  of  State,  though  a  staunch  bark, 
and  emulous  to  outstrip  some  of  her  elder  sisters,  has  evidently  more  sail 
than  ballast;  let  her  reef,  her  top-sail  and  gib-  keep  her  main-sail  to  the 
wind  trim  ship-  have  a  good  hand  at  the  wheel,  and  there  is  nothing  to 
fear;  she  will  steer  between  the  Scylla  and  Charybdis.  6  cheers. 

10.  The  Northeastern  Boundary  Question— May  Queen  Victoria  not  under- 
take to  jump  Uncle  Sam's  claim  till  she  is  out  of  debt.  (This  referred 
to  the  state  of  Maine's  boundary  dispute) . 

1 1 .  The  Press. 

12.  The  County  of  Du  Page— Divided  in  politics,  subdivided  by  interest;  may 
she  add  virtue  to  patriotism,  subtract  envy  from  interest,  multiply  unity 
of  sentiment  by  a  desire  for  the  public  good,  and  reduce  the  whole  to 
practice;  the  result  will  be  peace  and  prosperity.  6  cheers. 

13.  The  Fair  America. 

The  Chicago  newspaper  reported  each  of  the  foregoing  toasts  in 
full.  Only  enough  of  them  have  been  quoted  here  to  indicate  the 
nature  of  the  celebration. 

Judging  from  the  general  tone  of  this  gathering  and  from  the 
known  population  of  the  county  in  1839,  friends  must  have  been  in- 
vited from  far  and  wide.  Can  we  not  picture  the  scene  as  the  celebration 
came  to  an  end:  as  the  sun  went  down  and  the  shadows  lengthened,  the 


Chester  C.  Bratten  Photo 

The  Horace  Aldrich  house  as  it  appears  today. 
"A  numerous  company  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  assembled  on  the  Fourth  of  July." 


SETTLEMENT    UNDER    WAY  37 

guests  bid  good-bye,  walked  out  to  a  neighboring  grove  where  they  had 
hitched  their  horses;  mounted,  or  climbed  back  into  their  wagons,  and 
were  off  for  home,  to  arise  early  the  following  morning. 

See  page  36  for  a  picture  of  Horace  Aldrich's  house  as  it  looks  today. 
It  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of  Ogden  Avenue  four  miles  west  of 
York  Road. 


Throughout  the  history  of  the  Chicago  region  there  was  a  continu- 
ous need  of  more  and  better  transportation.  From  1 835  onward,  the 
westward  migration  of  new  settlers  was  a  continuous  procession.  They 
came,  they  departed,  and  many  remained.  In  Chicago,  during  thirty  or 
forty  years  of  the  middle  1800's,  the  Post  Office  handled  such  a  large 
volume  of  mail  for  transients,  that  the  newspapers  were  called  upon  to 
publish  long  lists  of  persons  passing  through,  or  who  had  not  yet  settled 
down,  for  whom  letters  had  arrived  at  the  Post  Office.  There  were 
"ladies'  lists"  and  "gentlemen's  lists,"  and  these  continued  until  after 
the  Civil  War. 

This  influx  of  new  people  meant  growth— of  towns,  farms,  factories, 
and  all  phases  of  life.  This  expansion  had  to  be  served  by  the  transport 
of  people  and  goods  from  one  place  to  another. 

Steamboats  were  introduced  on  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  navigable 
rivers  in  the  1 830's,  but  aside  from  these  natural  water  courses  Chicago 
had  poor  transportation  in  all  directions.  The  first  major  attempt 
toward  the  betterment  of  transportation  facilities  was  the  Illinois- 
Michigan  Canal.  In  1816  a  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Indians  had  ceded  a  strip  of  land  twenty  miles  wide,  running  diago- 
nally from  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Illinois  River. 
This  tract  was  set  out  for  the  purpose  of  digging  a  canal  to  connect  the 
lake  with  the  river,  thus  improving  upon  the  natural  Chicago  portage. 
The  canal  was  begun  in  1835,  completed  in  1848,  and  served  until 
1910,  during  which  time  it  had  a  useful  and  romantic  existence,  carry- 
ing a  great  deal  of  traffic  from  the  south  branch  of  the  Chicago  River  to 
the  Illinois  River  at  LaSalle. 

During  those  years,  the  call  of  the  canal-boatman  to  his  mules,  and 
the  crack  of  his  long  whip  were  familiar  sounds  in  Willow  Springs, 
Summit,  and  Lemont.  Business  reached  its  peak  in  1865,  when  275 
barges  were  in  operation.  Several  travelers  of  the  period,  some  of  them 


3» 


VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


Chicago  Historical  Society  Photo 

Scene  along  the  Illinois— Michigan  Canal  in  the  1880's. 
Travelers  of  the  period  have  left  written  accounts  of  their  trips  along  this  waterway. 


from  distant  lands,  have  left  written  accounts  of  their  trips  on  this 
water-way. 

The  dry  bed  of  the  canal  is  still  there,  also  the  tow-paths,  and 
some  of  the  locks  along  the  way.  The  canal  company's  office  building 
still  can  be  seen  at  Lockport.  As  far  back  as  1673  Louis  Joliet  had 
envisioned  this  canal,  cutting  across  the  portage,  and  some  of  the 
great-grandparents  of  present-day  Hinsdaleans  helped  to  make  it  pos- 
sible by  investing  in  the  company's  shares.  Although  the  State  Legis- 
lature attempted  to  protect  those  investments  by  prohibiting  the  early, 
paralleling  railroads  from  carrying  goods  at  rates  lower  than  those 
charged  by  the  canal  boats,  the  canal  was  doomed  to  a  slow  demise.  The 
rails,  and  another  canal;  the  present  Sanitary  8c  Ship  Canal,  dug  and 
maintained  by  the  Government,  put  it  out  of  business. 

The  growth  of  farms  in  number  and  productivity,  and  the  growth 
of  centers  of  population,  was  accompanied  by  further  extension  of 
roads  for  wagons  and  coaches,  and  a  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of 
those  vehicles.  This,  in  turn,  called  for  taverns  and  hotels.  One  of  the 
most  colorful  phases  of  life  in  early  Chicagoland,  and  one  which 


SETTLEMENT    UNDER    WAY  39 

touched  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Hinsdale,  was  the  era  of  the 
stage  coach.  Hinsdale  is  situated  between  two  of  the  best  traveled 
routes  over  which  those  cumbersome  vehicles  lurched  from  Chicago 
to  Galena  and  to  Ottawa. 

Prior  to  1831  the  old  southwest  highways,  Ogden  and  Plainfield 
Roads  were  in  their  "natural"  state,  having  been  beaten  down  through 
the  centuries  by  the  passage  of  Indian  and  trapper.  For  travel  by  foot, 
they  probably  presented  an  agreeable  surface,  but  the  coming  of 
wheeled  vehicles  brought  ruts  and  mud  holes. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  first  court  of  the  newly  organized  Cook  County, 
in  1 830,  a  resolution  was  adopted  for  improving  the  road  leading  from 
Chicago  to  Plainfield,  and  of  Ogden  Avenue  as  far  west  as  the  Des- 
plaines  River.  These  are  the  first  recorded  instances  of  road  improve- 
ment in  this  region,  but  the  work  consisted  mostly  of  straightening  and 
widening,  without  much  betterment  of  the  surface.  During  all  the 
years  before  the  Civil  War,  the  highways  of  this  district  were  rough, 
muddy,  and  dusty,  and  often  treacherous,  especially  at  those  points 
where  inadequate  bridges  were  thrown  across  the  streams.  Little  skill 
went  into  their  construction  and  they  were  quite  unsafe,  especially 
at  night. 

The  first  stage  coach  line  from  Chicago  to  the  southwest  is  said  to 
have  been  opened  by  Dr.  John  L.  Temple.  In  1834  his  line  ran  to  St. 
Louis,  using  the  Plainfield  Road  for  the  first  leg  of  the  journey.  The 
next  line  to  pass  through  here,  or  at  any  rate  the  first  to  advertise  a 
regular  service,  after  1834,  was  a  line  operated  by  John  D.  Winters. 
The  following  advertisement  was  inserted  by  him  in  the  Chicago 
Morning  Democrat,  Sept.  11,  1841 : 

STAGE    LINE 

CHICAGO    TO    GALENA 

VIA    DIXON'S    FERRY 

FARE  THROUGH  TO  GALENA  $5 

Leaves  Chicago 

Sunday,  Tuesday  and  Thursday 

at  4  O'clock  a.m.  via 

Brush  Hill,  Downers  Grove 

Naperville  and  Aurora. 

Mr.  Winter's  line  had  only  a  brief  tenure,  because  it  was  soon  super- 
seded by  the  line  of  Frink  and  Bingham,  later  known  as  Frink  and 


40  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Walker.  This  firm  operated  stages  over  both  of  the  southwest  highways 
and  within  a  few  years  had  obtained  Government  contracts  for  carrying 
the  mails  throughout  several  of  the  mid-western  states.  The  company 
was  highly  regarded  for  its  service  under  the  trying  conditions  then 
existing  on  the  frontier  highways.  According  to  its  advertisements,  $12 
became  the  charge  between  Chicago  and  Galena. 

Judging  from  everything  we  read  about  the  roads  of  those  days, 
and  traveling  accommodations  in  general,  the  chief  impression  to  be 
gained  is  how  bad  they  were.  These  included  crowded  coaches,  deep 
depressions  in  the  roads  filled  with  mud,  highwaymen,  delays,  dirty 
taverns,  poor  food,  and  long  periods  of  waiting  between  connections. 

Milo  Quaife  in  his  Chicago  Highways,  Old  and  Neiv  makes  these 
observations  concerning  early  travel  by  stage:  "The  traveler  who  em- 
barked upon  an  extended  journey  by  stage  committed  himself  to  a 
venture  whose  outcome  no  man  could  foresee."  In  the  taverns  there 
was  little  privacy,  the  beds  were  likely  to  have  been  slept  in  by  various 
guests  and  without  a  change  of  sheets,  before  the  traveller  arrived. 
Flies  and  insects  shared  the  accommodations.  "If  a  generalization  may 
be  attempted,"  says  Mr.  Quaife,  "it  would  be  that  the  food  served  in 
pioneer  taverns  was  abundant  as  to  quantity;  commonly,  however, 
there  was  little  variety  in  the  menu,  and  both  quality  and  manner  of 
service  left  much  to  be  desired.  Charles  Cleaver,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Chicago,  who  came  West  in  1833,  records  that  the  staple  bill  of 
fare  of  the  typical  tavern  was  bread,  butter,  potatoes,  and  fried  pork, 
but  variations,  both  seasonable  and  otherwise  were  occasionally  en- 
countered." The  traveler  who  could  spend  the  night  at  a  private  home 
was  fortunate,  even  though  the  home  were  only  a  cabin.  All  the  early 
taverns  were  not  uncomfortable,  of  course.  Then,  as  now,  each  place 
was  operated  according  to  the  attitude  and  ideas  of  its  proprietor.  But 
the  general  run  of  stopping  places  on  the  stage  routes  were  below  par, 
even  for  those  times  when  modern  conveniences  were  unknown. 

Taverns  of  those  days,  in  this  neighborhood,  were  the  Laughton's, 
previously  mentioned,  the  Buckhorn  and  Vial  establishments  on  the 
Plainfield  Road,  Castle  Inn  and  the  Grand  Pacific  at  Brush  Hill,  the 
Tremont  operated  by  Thomas  Andrews  in  Downers  Grove,  Mark 
Beaubien's  Toll  Gate  Inn,  a  few  miles  east  of  Naperville,  the  Pre- 
emption House  in  Naperville,  Grave's  Tavern  in  Lisle  Township,  and 
Mong's  Tavern  in  Elmhurst. 


SETTLEMENT    UNDER    WAY  41 

"Engineers,"  continues  Mr.  Quaife,  "were  scarce  in  the  western 
country,  and  the  early  bridges  were  rude  structures,  oftentimes  of 
wonderful  architecture.  Some  were  known  as  'shaking  bridges,'  others 
as  'floating  bridges.'  One  of  the  latter  type  spanned  the  Desplaines  on 
the  Chicago-Elgin  road  in  the  early  forties.  It  was  composed  of  planks, 
laid  down  on  stringers  which  floated  in  the  water."  When  wagons 
passed  over  this  bridge  it  sank  beneath  the  surface  and  rested  on  the 
bottom  of  the  river,  there  preventing  the  wagon  wheels  from  sinking 
into  the  soft  bed  of  the  stream.  But  the  planks  often  came  loose  and 
floated  away,  increasing  the  difficulties  for  the  next  team  of  horses,  or 
oxen. 

In  1857  a  piece  °f  nostalgic  fiction  appeared  in  the  Chicago  Maga- 
zine, which  has  long  since  discontinued  publication,  describing  an 
easterner's  journey  by  stage  from  Chicago  to  Ottawa  in  the  1840's,  and 
revealing  incidentally  something  of  the  story  writing  style  of  those 
days:  ".  .  .  He  left  in  the  night  in  one  of  John  Frink's  stages,  on  the 
route  toward  Ottawa;  to  say  road  at  that  time  would  be  trenching  on 
the  veritableness  of  history.  He  paid  his  fare  to  the  good  Mr.  Stowell, 
the  stage  agent,  and  while  he  looked  into  his  face  and  saw  his  honest 
good  nature  standing  out,  he  felt  as  if  the  light  of  Massachusetts  had 
fallen  upon  him.  The  old  coach  had  much  of  a  home  look  about  it;  it 
seemed  the  very  same  thing,  the  red  body  and  green  stripes,  that  twice 
a  week  came  down  over  the  hill,  rolling  and  pitching  like  a  ship  on  the 
waves,  down  by  the  old  homestead  (back  east)  ....  Daylight  sprang 
upon  him  and  revealed  to  him  the  bright  green  of  the  prairies,  twenty 
miles  south-west  of  Chicago 

The  carriage  and  delivery  of  mail,  and  express  packages,  during  the 
stage  coach  era  is  a  most  fascinating  subject,  one  that  could  make  up  a 
book  of  its  own.  In  the  newly  settled  districts,  letters  were  taken  to  the 
main  centers  along  the  highways  by  stage.  From  there  they  were  carried 
by  men  on  horseback  to  the  more  remote  settlements.  To  obtain  these 
letter  carriers  the  Post  Office  Department  inserted  in  the  newspapers 
long  lists,  in  fine  print,  under  the  heading:  proposals  for  carrying 
the  mail,  between  different  points.  Persons  desiring  the  work  would 
then  put  in  bids  for  the  various  routes  that  were  open. 

The  transportation  of  boxes,  chests,  and  packages  was  accomplished 
by  no  established  system  or  service  until  express  companies  such  as 
Adams  and  Wells  Fargo  came  into  being.  Even  then,  the  sizes  and 


42 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


weights  of  the  packages  carried  were  closely  limited,  and  many  were 
the  hazards  and  uncertainties  of  delivery. 

Roads  were  a  serious  problem  in  the  1830's  and  40's,  as  attested  by 
the  various  discussions  and  complaints  on  the  subject  that  appear  in  the 
Chicago  newspapers  of  the  period. 

"So  far  as  our  experience  has  extended,"  says  one  paper,  "we  have 
never  seen  worse  roads  than  that  to  Barry's  Point  and  five  miles  west  to 
Doty's  on  the  Naperville  Road.  (This  was  approximately  Ogden 
Avenue  as  far  west  as  Riverside.)  In  an  enterprising  community  like 
ours,  such  obstacles  to  commerce  and  inland  trade  ought  to  be  re- 
moved. ...  If  the  Commissioners  of  this  county  will  not  do  it,  let  them 
authorize  the  city  to  make  the  road.  But  in  all  events  let  the  road  be 
made."  It  was  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  city  approaches  to  the 
southwest  highway  that  accounts  for  Ogden  Avenue,  both  in  and  be- 
yond Chicago,  having  been  the  first  road  to  be  covered  with  wooden 
planks. 

The  idea  of  building  plank  roads  came  from  Canada  where  many 


Chicago  Historical  Society  Photo 

Bull's  Head  Tavern  was  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  southwestern  plank  road,  which 
extended  to  Brush  Hill  on  the  west.  The  building  was  located  at  Ogden  Avenue  and 
Madison  Street  in  Chicago.  Later,  it  was  moved  to  the  corner  of  Ogden  and  Harrison, 

where  it  stood  until  ipio. 


SETTLEMENT    UNDER    WAY  43 

stretches  of  marsh  land  had  been  made  passable  by  this  means,  and 
after  it  was  introduced  to  the  United  States  the  idea  spread  rapidly. 
The  Southwest  Plank  Road,  as  it  came  to  be  known,  extended  from 
Bull's  Head  Tavern  at  the  corner  of  Ogden  and  Madison  Street  in 
Chicago,  to  Brush  Hill  (Fullersburg)  reaching  the  latter  point  in 
1850.  It  was  a  one  lane  road,  eight  feet  wide,  made  of  planks  three 
inches  thick  placed  crosswise  on  parallel  log  stringers  which  were 
embedded  in  the  ground. 

It  naturally  followed  that  this  first  plank  highway,  which  ended  at 
the  Cook  County  boundary  line,  would  be  extended  on  to  the  west.  So 
we  find  that  in  1847  Morris  Sleight  of  Naperville  was  authorized  by 
the  "Commissioners  Court"  of  Du  Page  County  to  "establish  a  plank 
causeway  from  Naperville  to  the  east  and  west  lines  of  said  county,  20 
feet  wide  to  connect  with  a  plank  causeway  to  be  built  in  Cook  County, 
the  following  schedule  of  prices  to  be  charged  for  use  of  the  plank 
road": 

Carriage,  cart,  or  buggy  (one  horse)   .       .       .  25^ 

Carriage  and  two  horses 37 lA$ 

Horse 10^ 

Head  of  cattle 4^ 

Hog 3<f 

Sheep 3^ 

These  fees  were  collected  at  toll  gates. 

The  southwest  plank  road  was  built  and  maintained  as  a  private 
stock  enterprise  and  was  such  an  immediate  financial  success  that  five 
other  plank  roads  were  soon  under  construction  leading  in  as  many 
directions  from  the  city.  Good  transportation  between  Chicago  and 
points  West,  for  a  few  years  at  least,  was  assured. 

Better  roads  were  a  commercial  necessity,  quite  aside  from  any 
consideration  of  the  traveler's  comfort.  Produce  from  the  farms,  mines, 
and  timberlands  had  to  be  taken  to  the  towns  and  cities.  There  was  no 
way  of  doing  this  except  by  wagon,  and  these  vehicles  became  ex- 
tremely numerous,  especially  on  the  main  roads,  before  1855.  The 
towns  of  this  neighborhood  were  not  known  as  "suburbs"  in  those  days. 
This  district  was  out  in  the  country,  and  farming  was  the  principal 
occupation. 

A  Mr.  Hunt  of  Naperville,  who  remembered  the  plank  road  from 
there  to  Chicago  wrote,  some  years  ago— 


44  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

"Yes,  we  thought  that  we  had  a  good  thing  when  we  got  the  plank  road. 
Our  town  was  always  crowded  with  farmers  on  their  way  to  Chicago.  They 
came  from  miles  around.  This  was  the  only  good  road  into  the  city.  The  string 
of  teams  never  ended.  It  was  like  the  belt  of  a  great  pulley,  with  its  sheaves  at 
Chicago  and  Naperville,  the  full  wagons  going  up  on  the  right,  the  empty 
coming  back  on  the  left  (the  drivers  vice  versa) .  In  the  busiest  seasons  the 
wagons  had  to  keep  their  places  as  exactly  as  a  rope.  If  a  kink  got  in  the  line 
anywhere,  the  whole  machine  was  stopped." 

This  most  celebrated  of  the  plank  roads,  the  "Southwestern,"  was 
so  called  from  Chicago  to  Fullersburg.  From  there  to  Naperville  it  was 
the  "Oswego"  plank  road.  It  ended  at  Naperville  and  was  never  ex- 
tended to  Oswego,  but  extensions  were  completed  to  Warrenville  and 
to  St.  Charles.  For  about  ten  years  the  plank  road  boosted  traffic  be- 
tween Naperville  and  Chicago.  It  was  just  a  day's  journey  between  the 
two  places,  and  Brush  Hill  was  a  convenient  stopping  point,  about 
mid-way. 

Deacon  Horatio  N.  Field,  an  ancestor  of  the  Walter  Fields  of  Hins- 
dale traveled  through  Brush  Hill  on  the  plank  road  many  times  from 
Galesburg.  When  Knox  College  was  being  built  there,  wagon  owners 
were  asked  to  go  to  Chicago  for  loads  of  brick  for  the  college  buildings. 
Horatio  Field  offered  his  services  and  "many  a  trip  was  made  over  the 
plank  road  with  a  load  of  brick  to  help  erect  the  new  college." 

A  notice  in  the  Chicago  Journal  February  5,  1 850  said:  "The  whole 
amount  of  stock  of  the  Naperville  and  Oswego  Plank  Road  has  been 
taken."  This  venture  was,  for  a  while  so  popular,  and  so  many  of  Naper- 
ville's  leading  citizens  had  stock  in  the  enterprise,  that  Naperville 
refused  to  allow  the  Chicago  and  Galena  Union  Railroad  to  build 
through  their  town.  So  when  the  plank  roads  deteriorated,  Naperville 
was  isolated  for  a  time,  until  the  building  of  the  Chicago  Burlington 
and  Quincy. 

The  plank  roads  did  not  last,  for  obvious  physical  reasons.  They 
wore  out,  and  periodical  replacement  of  the  planks  was  found  less 
economical  than  the  surfacing  of  the  roads  by  other  means.  Rock 
crushers  were  coming  into  use.  And  there  was  a  good  deal  of  talk  about 
a  new  means  of  transportation  that  was  meeting  with  considerable 
success  in  South  Carolina,  Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  was  called  the  "rail  road." 


chapter  v  Brush  Hill  (Fullersburg) 


CLASSICAL  POEMS  have  been  written  about  such  commonplace 
transitory  objects  as  a  daisy,  or  a  butterfly;  and  enduring  passages 
of  prose  retain  for  posterity  an  autumn  landscape,  or  the  sound  of  a 
running  brook.  Brush  Hill,  too,  is  such  an  object.  Not  for  its  accom- 
plishments, not  for  its  affluence  or  grandeur,  will  it  be  remembered, 
but  just  because  it  was  a  picturesque  little  hamlet  with  a  character  so 
representative  of  early  America.  That  is  reason  enough  for  a  place  in 
history. 

It  was  settled  by  sturdy  homesteaders  from  the  east  who  first  built 
their  cabins  on  prairie  and  timberland  surrounding  the  site  of  the 
village  that  was  to  grow  there.  Then  a  tavern  was  built,  to  lodge  the 
newcomers  until  they  could  make  up  their  minds  where  to  stake  their 
claims,  and  the  transients  who  decided  to  move  on,  in  hope  of  finding 
a  more  likely  spot.  After  a  while  the  tavern  keeper  was  made  Postmaster 
to  handle  letters  to  and  from  the  neighboring  settlers.  Gradually  there 
was  felt  the  need  of  a  store,  a  church,  a  blacksmith,  a  shoemaker,  a 
doctor,  a  carpenter,  and  the  town  came  into  being.  Yes,  there  were 
thousands  of  Brush  Hills  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our 
land. 

But  there  are  some  features  of  its  history  that  are  unique  in  this 
hamlet:  for  one,  various  notable  persons  passed  this  way  even  before 
Chicago  was  large  enough  to  boast  of  many  such  of  her  own,  for  the 
community  straddles  one  of  the  ancient  southwest  highways,  the  origin 
and  beginnings  of  which  go  back  so  far  as  to  be  unrecorded.  For  cen- 
turies perhaps,  this  road  was  traversed  by  leading  Indian  chiefs,  their 
squaws,  warriors,  and  couriers,  from  the  first  habitation  down  to  1835 
when  most  of  the  Indians  of  the  region  were  removed.  There  were  the 
chiefs  Checagou  during  the  French  era,  and  later  such  Indian  notables 
as  Keokuk,  Black  Partridge  of  Fort  Dearborn  massacre  fame;  Wanata 
"the  charger,"  grand  chief  of  all  the  Sioux;  Mahaska,  chief  of  the 
Ioways;  Red  Wing,  Big  Foot,  and  Black  Hawk,  principal  enemies  of 
our  first  settlers,  and  many  others  who  came  out  of  the  West  to  the  foot 
of  the  big  lake. 

45 


46  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Three  small  armies,  and  other  military  detachments,  marched  past 
the  site  on  which  Brush  Hill  grew.  In  1730  there  was  De  Villiers,  with 
50  Frenchmen  and  500  Indians  on  their  way  to  battle  with  the  Fox  at 
Maramech,  near  Piano,  35  miles  west  of  here.  During  the  Revolution, 
Charles  de  Verville  and  his  band  marched  from  Lyons  to  Peoria  over 
the  Ogden  or  the  Plainfield  Road.  The  Black  Hawk  uprising  saw 
several  of  the  locally  recruited  companies  pass  and  re-pass  the  site. 
Winfield  Scott  and  members  of  his  staff  drove  through.  Some  say  he 
named  the  place,  but  this  probably  never  will  be  known  for  sure.  The 
prairie  schooners  of  countless  Forty-Niners  and  others,  whose  deeds 
now  are  inscribed  across  the  histories  of  the  far  West,  passed  here  too. 

There  were  statesmen  and  soldiers  who  used  the  road,  between 
Chicago  and  western  points,  during  both  war  and  peace:  Lincoln,  dur- 
ing his  residence  in  Springfield,  and  before  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road reached  there;  Stephen  Douglas,  Zachary  Taylor,  during  his 
Mid- Western  army  service,  also  Albert  Sydney  Johnston,  and  Henry 
Dodge;  Ulysses  Grant,  while  he  was  a  resident  of  Galena,  and  Governor 
Lewis  Cass  of  Michigan  very  likely  were  among  those  who  passed 
through  on  Ogden  Avenue  at  one  time  or  another,  before  the  rails 
came.  So  the  main  road  through  Fullersburg  is  a  well-worn  street  over 
whose  dirt,  plank,  macadam,  and  concrete,  in  their  turn,  have  traveled 
many  of  the  great,  the  near  great,  a  host  of  the  unknown,  and  un- 
doubtedly many  a  frontier  reprobate. 

This  also  was  the  birthplace  of  Loie  Fuller,  a  dancer  of  interna- 
tional reputation.  It  was  the  site  of  a  grist  mill  which  served  the  farmers 
over  a  wide  area  for  many  years.  And  it  is  now  a  part  of  Hinsdale. 

We  do  not  know  who  was  the  first  man  to  settle  on  farm  land 
adjacent  to  the  town,  or  who  was  the  first  to  occupy  a  lot  on  the  town 
site.  Elisha  Fish  could  have  been  the  first,  or  Jesse  Atwater,  John  Tal- 
madge,  Orente  Grant,  or  John  Rieder;  it  makes  no  great  difference, 
but  we  do  know  that  these  were  the  first  five  to  settle  on  or  near  the  site 
of  Brush  Hill.  Probably  the  next  was  Sherman  King  who  moved  there 
from  Naperville,  and  who  had  been  a  member  of  Joe  Naper's  mounted 
volunteer  company  in  the  Black  Hawk  War.  Soon  afterward,  the 
Fullers  and  the  Torodes  arrived.  Orente  Grant  very  likely  was  the  first 
to  set  out  a  lot  and  build  within  the  town,  because  it  was  he  who  erected 
Castle  Inn,  the  first  hotel,  and  this  occurred  before  the  town  was 
platted.  The  others  established  farms  near  by,  mostly  north  along  Salt 


BRUSH  HILL 


47 


Photo  lent  by  Mrs.  Pearl  Dumphy 

Jacob,  the  father  of  all  the  Fullers,  built  his  house  west  of  Spring  Road, 
north  of  Thirty-First  Street. 


Creek.  There  probably  were  no  dwellings  within  the  present  village 
boundaries  when  Castle  Inn  was  built.  There  were  no  surveyors 
around  as  yet,  so  these  people,  and  many  of  those  to  follow,  simply  drew 
the  boundary  lines  of  their  property  between  certain  designated  trees 
or  rocks.  Mostly  the  land  was  "preempted";  that  is,  it  was  settled  on 
with  the  intention  of  establishing  exact  boundaries  later.  Legally,  this 
was  permitted. 

Benjamin  Fuller,  one  of  those  many  progressive  young  men  of  New 
York  State  who  was  able  to  anticipate  Horace  Greeley's  well  known 
piece  of  advice,  came  West,  riding  a  horse,  in  the  year  1834,  seeking  a 
likely  spot  to  make  his  home.  This  survey  led  him  to  Brush  Hill,  with 
which  place  he  was  so  well  pleased  that  he  went  home  for  other  mem- 
bers of  his  family.  He  convinced  his  wife,  Olive,  his  father,  Jacob 
Fuller,  his  mother,  and  his  five  brothers  and  six  sisters,  of  the  attrac- 
tions of  this  locality,  so  they  all  packed  up  and  moved,  sight  unseen,  but 
with  utmost  confidence  in  Benjamin's  judgment.  Time  has  shown  their 
confidence  to  have  been  well  placed. 

Three  of  the  daughters  came  overland  with  the  family  by  wagon, 


48  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

the  other  three  girls  preferring  a  steamboat  through  the  lakes.  These 
new  boats  in  those  days  were  popularly  known  as  "propellers,"  and  it 
took  the  girls  six  weeks  to  reach  Chicago  from  Buffalo  by  this  novel 
means  of  travel.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  E.  Ruchty,  from  whom  most  of 
these  facts  have  been  gathered,  do  not  know  how  much  time  was  oc- 
cupied in  the  overland  journey,  but  most  of  the  pioneer  treks  by  wagon 
from  eastern  states  took  well  over  a  month.  After  completing  the  final 
lap  through  the  swamps  west  of  Chicago,  they  finally  reached  high 
ground  in  what  is  now  York  Township  where  they  settled,  in  1 835,  on 
land  that  Jacob  purchased  from  the  Government.  This  land  comprised 
most  of  the  area  afterward  known  as  Natoma  Farm. 

The  sons  of  Jacob  and  Candace  Fuller  were  Benjamin,  Morell, 
Ruben,  Lewis,  George,  and  David.  The  daughters  were  Mary,  Louise, 
Tammy,  Ann,  Harriet,  and  Katherine.  Mary,  the  third  daughter  soon 
became  the  first  school  teacher,  the  first  in  this  vicinity  in  fact.  She  went 
by  foot  from  the  house  of  one  pupil  to  that  of  the  next,  always  accom- 
panied by  two  large  dogs,  Pedro  and  Nero,  for  protection  against  the 
wolves  that  often  roamed  through  the  high  prairie  grass  that  grew  in 
the  fields  at  that  time.  Mary  married  Barto  Van  Velzer,  who  came  here 
from  New  York  State.  He  purchased  land  that  is  now  the  Mays  Lake 
property,  helped  in  laying  out  the  plank  road,  and  became  toll-gate 
keeper  at  Brush  Hill.  Barto  and  Mary  had  ten  children,  and  their  house 
is  still  standing  where  the  toll  gate  spanned  the  highway,  east  of  Cass 
Street    (York  Road).  See  page  53. 

Benjamin  Fuller  platted  the  original  town,  and  purchased  land  on 
both  sides  of  the  main  highway.  Morell  served  as  drum  major  in  the 
Civil  War,  and  all  of  the  sons  and  daughters  became  good  citizens  of 
the  growing  village.  Their  numbers  increased  until  many  of  the  people 
in  the  town  were  either  a  Fuller  or  a  relative,  and  so  it  has  been  through 
the  years. 

Following  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  Salt  Creek  area,  there  came  the 
Thurstons  in  1837,  tne  Goes  in  '39,  Marvin  Fox  in  '50,  the  Wagners  in 
'55,  and  John  Hemshell  in  '59.  "The  folk  tales  of  the  1830's  and  '4o's 
mention  few  women,  but  undoubtedly  there  were  women,  who  were 
mostly  busy  with  the  family  chores  .  .  .  ."  All  of  the  Pottawattamie 
Indians  did  not  leave  with  the  main  body  of  the  tribe  when  it  was 
removed  from  this  region,  and  some  of  them  lingered  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  creek,  both  east  and  west  of  York  Road,  at  the  time  the 


BRUSH  HILL  49 

neighborhood  was  being  settled.  ''They  were  good  and  kindly  neigh- 
bors, and  the  children  of  the  Indians  and  those  of  the  white  people 
played  together.  Benjamin  Fuller  showed  the  Indians  how  to  shoe 
their  horses."  It  is  said  that  the  Indians,  as  an  expression  of  their  grati- 
tude, presented  his  son  with  a  pony.  Mrs.  Levi  Pease,  an  early  arrival, 
remembered  seeing  Indians  in  their  canoes  on  Salt  Creek. 

The  late  Mrs.  Harvey  Brookins,  daughter  of  Morell  Fuller,  in  her 
notes  alludes  to  this  small  community  of  Indians  and  tells  of  her  father 
having  had  Indian  playmates  as  a  child.  Among  the  Brookins  family 
antiques  are  a  deer  gun,  candle  mold,  spoon  mold,  and  harvesting 
cradle,  brought  to  Brush  Hill  by  her  grandparents  when  they  came 
West. 

The  first  school  house  in  Brush  Hill,  according  to  Mrs.  Brookins, 
was  built  by  Lieutenant  King  in  the  early  1850's.  The  Hinsdale  Public 
Library's  historical  collection  contains  several  of  the  original  papers 
pertaining  to  the  building  and  the  administration  of  this  school,  among 
them  being  minutes  of  the  school  director's  meetings,  cost  accounts 
relating  to  construction,  and  a  check-sheet  which  records  the  attend- 
ance of  each  student  throughout  the  year. 

These  papers  recall  the  names  of  many  Brush  Hill  residents  of  that 
period.  Among  them  are:  Richards,  Bedell,  Parker,  Mclnder,  Sackett, 
Carpenter,  Couch,  Porter,  Cable,  Hanson,  Huchins,  Pitts,  Sucher, 
Winchop,  Sutherland,  Ketcham,  Kinyon,  Avery. 

Just  before  the  opening  of  the  school,  the  directors  invited  the 
School  Commissioner  of  Du  Page  County  to  come  over  for  an  inspec- 
tion and  to  give  them  a  talk.  The  Commissioner  replied  as  follows: 

Naperville     Dec.  6,  1853 
To  G.  M.  Fox,  M.  D. 
My  Dear  Sir: 

In  compliance  with  your  request  I  will  endeavor  to  be  at  Brush 
Hill  on  Friday  the  16th  inst.  to  address  the  people  of  your  neighbor- 
hood in  your  new  school  house.  The  meeting  I  suppose  will  be  in  the 
evening,  somewhere  from  six  to  seven  o'clock.  If  the  weather  shall  be 
stormy  you  will  not  expect  me. 

Yours  respectfully, 

H.  Brown 

On  Page  50  the  certificate  appointing  Miss  Caroline  Bates  as  the 
teacher  is  reproduced. 


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BRUSH  HILL  51 

How  did  these  early  farmers  around  Brush  Hill  live?  They  brought 
with  them  a  good  heritage  from  their  New  England  or  German  an- 
cestors, a  few  hand  tools,  utensils,  and  small  pieces  of  furniture. 
Fertile  land  was  easy  to  obtain  for  a  comparatively  low  price.  There 
was  plenty  of  game  in  the  woods,  also  crab  apples,  berries,  and  fish 
in  the  creek.  Clothing  was  more  of  a  problem;  also  certain  required 
manufactured  articles  were  scarce,  but  taxes  were  low,  and  farm  life 
was  healthful. 

Here,  as  elsewhere  on  the  frontier,  currency  was  not  plentiful  so 
farmers  did  much  bartering,  with  labor,  goods,  and  produce.  Certain 
manufacturing  of  a  crude  sort,  mostly  in  the  form  of  wagons,  small 
implements,  and  shoes,  took  place  in  settlements  such  as  Brush  Hill. 
These  articles  were  used  or  consumed  near  the  place  of  their  manufac- 
ture. After  1845  ^  became  increasingly  easy  to  obtain  manufactured 
goods  in  Chicago,  only  a  day's  journey,  one  way,  weather  and  road 
permitting.  Salt,  tea,  and  coffee  also  were  purchased  there;  that  is,  until 
John  Coe  and  others  opened  their  general  stores. 

The  Du  Page  Historian,  a  publication  of  the  Du  Page  County  His- 
torical Society,  gives  us  these  glimpses  of  life  on  the  early  local  farm: 

"The  first  cabins  were  constructed  of  logs  fitted  closely  together  and  mortised 

with  mud Nails  were  scarce  so  wooden  pegs  were  used  instead.  The 

stone  fireplace  ....  was  used  for  both  cooking  and  heating,  except  in  warm 
weather  when  much  of  the  cooking  was  done  out  of  doors.  Candles  afforded  the 
only  illumination.  Flint  and  steel  were  used  to  start  the  fire.  (Matches,  patented 
in  this  country  by  Alonzo  Philips  in  1836,  were  long  a  luxury)  . 

"Hospitality  was  warm,  and  the  traveler  was  given  the  best  in  the  house 
and  invited  to  stay  as  long  as  he  liked.  The  newcomer  was  given  assistance  if 
he  needed  it,  his  hosts  helping  him  to  build  his  cabin  and  even  donating  live 
stock  if  he  had  none.  Only  one  rule  the  new  settler  might  not  transgress  and 
remain  popular  with  his  fellows.  He  must  not  criticize  the  new  country,  com- 
plain of  its  disadvantages,  or  talk  of  the  superiority  of  the  place  from  which 
he  had  come. 

"Every  blacksmith  with  an  inventive  turn  of  mind  was  tinkering  with  plows. 
Sometimes  mold  boards  of  cast  iron  were  tried  on  the  plows  by  way  of  improve- 
ment. (The  Oliver  plow,  the  first  factory-made  plow  in  the  United  States,  was 
not  manufactured  until  1855) . 

"Livestock  was  allowed  to  wander  freely  over  the  fields.  Hogs  fed  themselves 
on  roots  and  acorns.  Cows  strayed  for  miles  on  the  open  prairie  and  were 
identified  by  the  tones  of  bells  placed  around  their  necks.  The  settlers  had  to 
fence  in  their  crops  to  keep  the  animals  out."  Rail  fence,  ditches,  sod  embank- 
ments, and  osage  hedge  were  used  for  this  purpose.  Barbed  wire  was  invented 
much  later. 


52 


VILLAGE  ON  THE  COUNTY  LINE 


Chester  C.  Bratten  Photo 

Castle  Inn  as  it  appears  today. 

A  tavern  was  built,  to  lodge  the  newcomers  until  they  could 
stake  their  claims." 


These  families  had  some  time  for  reading,  around  their  candles  or 
lamps  in  the  evening,  especially  in  the  winter.  The  newspaper  was  the 
chief  dispenser  of  news,  and  probably,  then  as  now,  newspapers  from 
Chicago,  though  often  a  day  or  two  late,  were  the  dailies  read  by  Brush 
Hill  citizens.  Eventually  there  were  a  few  county  papers,  such  as  the 
Naperville  Observer  and  the  Lockport  Courier,  but  these  were  con- 
fined mostly  to  the  towns  in  which  they  were  printed. 

Chicago  newspapers  of  the  1 850^  and  6o's  had  larger  pages  than  the 
papers  of  today,  though  not  so  many,  and  the  type  was  smaller.  They 
carried  many  special  dispatches  "by  telegraph"  from  distant  places  and 
much  space  was  given  to  happenings  of  a  general  nature  throughout 
the  world.  Advertisements  were  mostly  small  and  very  numerous. 
Many  of  them  extolled  the  virtues  of  remedies  of  one  kind  or  another 
such  as: 

BUCHAN'S  HUNGARIAN  BALSAM  OF  LIFE 
The  great  English  remedy  for  colds,  coughs, 
asthma,  and  consumption. 

(1846) 


BRUSH  HILL  53 

Or,  from  a  paper  of  an  earlier  period: 

Dr.   L.   B.   Crane 's   Vegetable   Ointment   for   the 
prairie  itch. 

(1839) 

In  the  same  year  a  state  lottery,  called  "a  brilliant  scheme"  was  ad- 
vertised. This  was  authorized  by  the  legislature  to  raise  money  for  the 
purpose  of  draining  swamp  lands. 

In  1 864  C.  H.  De  Forrest  was  notifying  the  public  of  his  hoop  skirt 
manufactory  and  sales  room  at  84  Lake  Street  in  the  city. 

Nor  was  the  press  of  that  day  lacking  in  bits  of  wit  and  wTisdom. 
In  issues  of  1854  these  are  found: 

No  man  can  avoid  his  own  company, 
so  he  had  best  make  it  as  good  as 
possible. 

Spell  murder  backwards 
and  you  have  its  cause. 

For  entertainment  in  the  city  there  were  announcements  of  the 
Lyceum,  the  Athenaeum,  and  exhibits  such  as  Napoleons  Funeral, 


■  ■■■■■.      -■■ 

Toll  Gate  House  was  built  during  the  1840' 's. 


54  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

shown  in  the  evening  at  the  City  Hall,  besides  The  Sea  of  Ice  and  other 
performances  at  McVicker's  Theatre,  and  at  the  Coliseum  on  Clark 
Street. 

And  if  you  would  like  a  sample  of  pioneer  food,  here  is  a  recipe 
for  corn  bread  that  appeared  in  The  Chicago  Democrat  August  3,  1 842 : 

"Take  corn  meal,  a  sufficient  quantity  to  make  a  stiff  batter  with  3  pints  of  sour 
milk;  3  eggs  well  beaten;  2  oz.  of  shortening;  1  gill  of  beet  molases;  a  little  salt 
and  saleratus;  grease  pan  well  and  bake  quick." 

The  Brush  Hill  folks  had  neighbors  at  Cass,  Lyonsville,  and  Sum- 
mit to  the  south,  Pierce  Downer's  settlement  to  the  west,  Lyons  on  the 
east,  and  Addison  up  north.  In  those  days  the  people  of  these  surround- 
ing towns  were  looked  upon  as  close  neighbors.  A  wagon  trail  that  is 
now  York  Road  led  north  to  Addison,  another  now  called  the  County 
Line  Road,  led  south  to  the  Plainfield  and  Joliet  Roads.  Cass  usually 
was  reached  over  the  southern  extension  of  what  is  now  Garfield  Street, 
or  over  the  route  of  the  present  Highway  No.  83.  Ogden  led  east  to 
Lyons  and  Chicago,  while  Downer's  Grove  was  reached  by  another  set 
of  wagon  tracks,  which  later  became  the  road  cutting  through  the 
course  of  the  Hinsdale  Golf  Club. 

The  main  east- west  road  through  Brush  Hill  was  improved  some  as 
early  as  the  1 840's,  and  it  became  known  as  a  "turnpike"  with  toll  gates 
at  intervals  to  help  defray  the  cost  of  improvement.  These  toll  gates 
lingered  on  through  the  era  of  the  plank  road  bubble. 

Before  the  building  of  the  Graue  grist  mill,  on  the  south  bank  of 
Salt  Creek  at  York  Road,  Mr.  Torode  erected  a  saw  mill  on  practically 
the  same  site  as  early  as  1845.  The  house  opposite  the  present  mill,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  creek,  is  said  to  have  been  constructed  of  lumber 
sawed  there.  (A  recent  remodeling  of  the  building,  now  a  tavern,  re- 
vealed the  original  timbers  of  black  oak)  .  The  Torodes  built  a  house 
in  1842,  using  stone  from  a  nearby  quarry  bound  with  mortar  made 
of  native  clay  and  straw.  In  that  same  quarry  many  youngsters  have 
gone  swimming  during  the  past  seventy-five  years.  In  1 844  John  S.  Coe 
opened  his  blacksmith  shop,  using  an  anvil  he  had  hauled  all  the  way 
from  his  former  home  in  the  East.  Later  he  operated  a  general  store. 

A  second  tavern  was  built,  this  one  on  the  north  side  of  the  road, 
a  little  east  of  the  Cass  Street  intersection.  It  became  known  as  the 
Grand  Pacific,  and  later,  as  Fullersburg  Tavern.  There  was  also  a 
corral  for  transient  live  stock  in  town  over  night  while  being  driven 


BRUSH  HILL  55 

to  the  city.  The  fact  of  two  taverns  being  required  in  such  a  small 
town  is  ample  evidence  of  the  density  of  the  horse-drawn,  and  oxen- 
drawn  traffic  that  must  have  passed  through.  At  one  time  John  F. 
Ruchty,  father  of  Mr.  George  E.  Ruchty  operated  both  of  these  inns. 

As  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  determine,  Brush  Hill  "just  grew" 
from  this  time  forward.  People  came  through  continuously,  the  flow 
of  traffic  being  mostly  westward  for  a  number  of  years,  and  every  so 
often  a  man  or  a  man  and  his  family,  would  pull  up  at  one  of  the  inns 
in  his  prairie  schooner  and  "anchor"  for  a  while,  then  settle  down  on 
a  piece  of  land.  Prior  to  1855,  especially  after  the  plank  road  was  con- 
structed, the  travel  through  Brush  Hill  was  heavy,  both  to  and  from 
the  city.  But  for  this  it  would  have  been  a  quiet  little  town  indeed, 
with  the  only  other  sounds  coming  from  the  blacksmith  shop,  a  few 
boys,  girls,  roosters,  and  dogs.  The  population  in  1855  was  200. 

It  must  have  been  less  than  that  in  1839.  That  was  the  year  in 
which  Du  Page  County  was  formed.  In  that  year  also,  a  political  con- 
vention was  held  in  the  county,  at  which  a  "Committee  of  Vigilance" 
was  appointed  for  each  of  the  precincts,  and  to  serve  on  this  committee 
for  their  precinct,  these  men  were  appointed  from  Brush  Hill:  Levi  C. 
Aldrich,  William  Fuller,  Sherman  King,  and  J.  G.  Yorrick. 

The  Chicago  newspaper  in  which  this  announcement  was  found 
gives  no  hint  of  the  purpose  of  the  "committee  of  vigilance,"  nor  do 
either  of  the  two  histories  of  the  County.  The  committees  could  have 
been  appointed  for  police  protection,  but  in  as  much  as  they  emanated 
from  a  political  party,  perhaps  we  are  safe  in  assuming  that  they  were 
the  pioneer  counterpart  of  the  modern  "ward  heeler." 

Here  is  another  of  the  rare  items  of  news  about  Brush  Hill  found  in 
Chicago  papers  of  the  day.  This  one  appears  in  an  issue  of  August  13, 

1847: 

"A  man  died  at  Brush  Hill,  in  Du  Page  Co.,  on  Saturday  night  last.  He  had 
left  Chicago  that  day,  arrived  at  Brush  Hill  in  the  evening  and  put  up  at  a 
tavern  for  the  night.  Being  unwell  he  got  some  medicine  of  a  doctor  that  lived 
there,  and  died  during  the  night.  On  Sunday  he  was  boxed  up  and  buried  in 
a  pasture.  The  people  there  do  not  know  his  name,  or  where  he  belonged.  The 
fact  of  his  having  a  load  of  crockery  may  lead  to  the  discovery  of  his  name  and 
residence.  Not  having  got  his  load  at  Mr.  Burley's  Crockery  Store  it  is  probable 
that  he  got  it  from  some  of  the  warehouses." 

This  announcement  adds  a  touch  of  color  to  our  picture  of  the 
town  in  those  times,  and  it  implies  that  taverns  of  the  day  kept  no 


56  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

register  books  for  guests.  Concerning  the  doctor's  medicine,  there  is 
no  comment. 

The  hotels  had  various  proprietors  and  owners  as  time  passed. 
Grant,  Fuller,  Walker,  Ruchty,  and  a  man  named  Lugin  are  the  names 
usually  seen  in  connection  with  the  ownership  or  operation  of  these 
inns. 

The  war  with  Mexico  started  in  1 846  and  a  meeting  was  called  at 
the  county  seat  in  June  of  that  year  to  raise  a  company  of  volunteers. 
Perhaps  a  few  men  from  Brush  Hill  attended,  and  it  may  be  that  some 
of  them  enlisted.  Possibly  we  never  shall  know.  The  service  lists  for 
that  war  indicate  the  recruit's  place  of  enlistment,  but  not  his  place 
of  residence,  and  none  of  the  living  old-timers  remember  having  heard 
of  any  Mexican  War  veterans  among  the  villagers. 


In  april  1854  a  Vermonter,  Alfred  L.  Walker  arrived  in  Brush  Hill. 
With  him  were  his  wife  Fanny  Ann,  his  mother  Sophia  Pettigrew 
Walker,  and  a  son  Clifford.  This  family  came  out  by  stage  coach  to 
Chicago,  then  west  over  the  plank  highway  to  a  house  on  York  Road, 
where  they  remained  for  some  time  while  looking  for  farm  land. 

From  Benjamin  Fuller,  Mr.  Walker  bought  more  than  300  acres, 
also  the  tavern  and  Castle  Inn,  and  moved  into  the  latter,  where  the 
family  remained  until  their  house  was  built.  This  was  to  be  a  com- 
modious farm  house.  Placing  it  according  to  present-day  landmarks, 
the  house  stood  east  of  Garfield,  at  the  eastern  end  of  Ayres  Avenue. 
Remnants  of  the  house  now  are  incorporated  in  the  home  of  Mr.  W.  F. 
Price  at  429  N.  Garfield.  Thus  Mr.  Walker's  house  was  the  first  to  be 
erected  within  the  boundaries  of  Hinsdale  as  they  were  before  Fullers- 
burg  was  annexed.  The  Lane  was  so  named  by  Mrs.  E.  F.  Hines,  Mr. 
Walker's  grand  daughter,  because  it  actually  was  the  lane  through 
which  the  cows  came  up  to  the  barn  when  the  place  was  a  farm.  A 
patent  for  the  Walker  property  was  issued  originally  to  one  Grove 
Lawrence  of  New  York  State  and  signed  by  Martin  Van  Buren  Jr., 
Secretary  to  President  Van  Buren.  This  document  has  been  preserved 
in  the  Edward  Hines  family.  Later  the  land  was  deeded  to  one  Joseph 
Battells,  then  to  Benjamin  Fuller,  and  finally  to  Alfred  Walker. 

A  progressive  farmer,  coming  of  a  long  line  of  New  England  agri- 
culturists, Mr.  Walker  experimented  with  various  farm  produce,  the 


1 


BRUSH  HILL 


57 


%>, 


7 


Test  &  McQuarrie  Photo 

Household  articles  brought  from  Vermont  by  the  Walkers,  and  flax  grown  on  their 

Hinsdale  farm. 

i.  Ink  Well,  2.  Flax,  3.  Mr.  Walker's  Spectacles,  4.  Spatula,  5.  Spoon,  6.  Carpet  Bag, 
7.  Cheese  Tester,  and  8.  Wooden  Chopping  Bowl. 


preparation  of  meat,  and  the  manufacture  of  cheese  and  other  things. 
This  was  recognized  by  the  Federal  Government  as  a  "model  farm." 
to  which  it  assigned  a  Japanese,  Ineye  Katsumasa,  to  be  educated  in 
American  agriculture. 

According  to  Blanchard,  one  of  the  County  historians,  there  was 
not  a  dwelling  house  within  several  miles,  to  the  south,  when  the 


58 


VILLAGE   ON    THE   COUNTY  LINE 


The  Walker  farm  house  stood  at  the  eastern  end  of  Ayres  Avenue. 


Walker  home  was  built,  in  1 857.  The  wolves  were  numerous  then,  and 
a  bear  occasionally  was  seen  poking  its  nose  through  the  rails  of  the 
pig  pen.  The  farm  proper  was  north  of  Hickory  Street;  south  of  there 
it  was  partly  wooded,  which  gave  the  name  Walker's  woods,  or  Walk- 
er's grove  to  the  wooded  area  at  the  northern  end  of  Elm  Street. 

Mrs.  Hines  now  has  various  articles  her  grandparents  Walker 
brought  with  them  from  the  East.  Among  these  are  the  ones  pictured 
on  page  57. 

At  this  point  let  us  turn  to  a  state  of  Illinois  business  directory  for 
the  year  1 854.  For  Brush  Hill  it  gives  the  following  names  and  occupa- 
tions: 


Josiah  B.  Dodson Attorney 

John  S.  Coe Blacksmith 

Alva  McDonald  1  _.  .  0:       _  _  , 

J. Boot  and  Shoe  Makers 

Ellas  Ostrander  J 

Luther  Couch 


Mark  Davis 
Franklin  Packard 
E.  Winship 


Carpenters  and  House  Builders 


BRUSH  HILL  59 

F.  Leonard,  Episcopal Clergyman 

J  '  L Dry  Goods  Store  and  General  Merchants 

Benjamin  Fuller    f 

Frederick  Graue  ]  _,  ,  ~  .     ,,.,, 

I Flour  and  Grist  Mill 

Wm.  Ashe  J 

John  Fuller  Hotel 

Benjamin  Fuller Postmaster 

Geo.  M.  Fox Physician 

Arthur  Young 

Fred  Graue 

Wm.  Ashe 

A  flourishing  enterprise,  started  after  publication  of  this  directory, 
was  Henry  Bohlander's  harness  shop  which  was  patronized  by  farmers 
within  a  long  radius.  Henry  was  the  father  of  George  Bohlander,  har- 
ness maker  and  violinist.  Henry  Dietz  operated  a  slaughter  house  and 
meat  market  during  the  6o's  and  70's. 

A  number  of  grist  mills  were  erected  in  this  region  between  1830 
and  1 860  and  one  of  these  was  built  by  Frederick  Graue,  on  Salt  Creek. 
After  purchasing  200  acres  of  land,  mostly  north  of  the  creek,  Mr. 
Graue,  in  1 849,  completed  a  mill  building  which  had  been  started  two 
years  previously.  This  was  near  the  site  of  the  former  Torode  saw  mill, 
which  had  burned  in  1848. 

The  foundation  stones  for  the  Graue  mill  were  quarried  near 
Lemont,  the  white  oak  for  the  timbers  of  the  building  was  cut  in  that 
same  district,  the  bricks  were  manufactured  in  the  brick-yard  back 
of  Morell  Fuller's  home,  from  clay  dug  in  the  vicinity.  Some  say  that 
Mr.  Graue  originally  devised  his  own  mill  machinery,  but  that  later  he 
bought  some  in  the  East,  and  that  a  millwright  came  from  New  York 
to  install  it. 

The  first  dam  here  was  built  of  logs  and  brush,  as  the  Indians  used 
to  build  them,  by  that  versatile  Sherman  King  whose  name  appears 
so  frequently  in  the  early  annals  of  the  village.  This  dam  was  replaced 
by  a  crib-and-plank  type  dam  in  the  1870's.  Originally,  power  for  the 
mill  was  obtained  from  an  under-shot  wheel,  like  the  one  that  is  there 
now,  but  later,  in  1868  a  water  turbine  drive  was  installed,  the  tur- 
bine being  shipped  from  Springfield,  Ohio. 

The  volume  and  velocity  of  the  flow  of  water,  which  was  adequate 
for  operating  this  mill  in  the  early  days,  seemed  to  diminish  over  the 
years  until,  in  the  i87o's,  it  became  necessary  to  supplement  the  water 


6o 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


Graue's  Grist  Mill 


Interior,  First  Floor 


One  of  the  Mill  Stones,  Dismantled 


The  Mill  Race 


BRUSH  HILL  61 

power  with  a  small  steam  driven  engine.  At  first  this  steam  plant  was  on 
the  island  just  north  of  the  mill  race.  Later  it  was  moved  to  the  east  side 
of  the  mill  building.  Apparently  the  flow  of  Salt  Creek  became  less  re- 
liable during  the  mill's  useful  life,  covering  a  span  of  70  years. 

Mrs.  William  Graue,  grand-daughter-in-law  of  the  original  Fred- 
erick, was  an  old  lady  when  she  died  a  few  years  ago.  She  had  come  to 
the  red  brick  dwelling  south  of  the  mill  as  a  bride,  and  her  husband 
inherited  the  mill  in  1881. 

In  an  interview  shortly  before  she  passed  away,  Mrs.  Graue  told 
how  the  mill  ground  whole  wheat,  white,  and  rye  flour,  and  feed  for 
farm  animals.  Sorghum,  maple  syrup,  and  cider  also  were  produced 
there.  She  remembered  Indians  living  in  huts  on  the  north  side  of  the 
creek,  on  a  clearing  east  of  York  Road;  how  they  would  wander  over 
to  the  Graue's  place  when  the  syrup  was  being  boiled  down,  and  how 
the  family  would  always  give  them  some  of  it,  spread  over  corn  cakes. 
Today,  in  the  parlor  of  the  Graue  home,  there  are  various  Indian  im- 
plements and  relics. 

Her  memory  seemed  quite  clear  also  concerning  a  visit  paid  to  the 
mill  by  the  State  Legislator  Abraham  Lincoln,  one  day  while  he  was 
journeying  through  here  from  Chicago.  Lincoln  chatted  with  the  elder 
Graue  for  a  bit  before  continuing  on  his  way. 

Historical  side-lights  often  turn  up  in  unexpected  places.  Many 
years  ago  Mr.  Graue  employed  one  Patrick  Kammeyer  as  foreman  of 
his  mill.  Kammeyer,  who  not  only  worked  there,  but  also  made  his 
home  in  the  mill  building,  evidently  was  a  thrifty  and  thoughtful  in- 
dividual; for  in  1926,  at  the  age  of  88,  he  drew  up  a  will  and  sent  it  to 
his  brother  residing  in  Rome,  New  York.  In  the  letter  transmitting 
this  will,  he  said,  among  other  things:  "When  I  die  I  want  you  to  have 
everything  I  own.  I  have  saved  more  than  $4,000.  This  money  is  in  a 
box  hidden  in  the  mill.  It  is  yours  when  I  die."  Directions  for  finding 
the  money  were  not  explicit. 

Two  years  later  Kammeyer  dropped  dead;  and  soon  afterward  rela- 
tives came  from  the  East  to  search  the  building  for  the  money.  They 
did  not  find  it. 

In  1934,  while  the  building  was  in  process  of  restoration  by  the 
Civilian  Conservation  Corps,  a  worker  uncovered  some  money  behind 
bricks  in  one  of  the  interior  walls.  The  money  is  known  to  have  con- 
sisted of  the  old-style  large  paper  currency,  because  a  few  of  the  bills 


62  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

were  seen  by  others,  one  of  them  having  been  spent  at  the  tavern  across 
the  stream.  When  interviewed,  the  worker  said  the  money  was  only  of  a 
small  amount.  The  exact  amount  has  never  been  determined. 

The  settlement  known  as  Brush  Hill  was  incorporated  as  a  village 
in  1851  and  what  was  more  natural  than  "Fullersburg"  as  a  name  for 
the  newly  organized  town,  with  so  many  Fullers  living  there-about  and 
having  had  such  a  large  part  in  the  shaping  of  the  community.  Rumor 
has  it  that  sentiment  was  ripe  for  a  change  in  name  anyhow,  because 
Brush  Hill,  in  the  olden  days  had  been  chosen  as  a  hidingout  place  by 
certain  gentry  who  stole  horses,  and  that  this  rightly  or  wrongly,  had 
left  a  slight  blot  on  the  town's  reputation. 

Fullersburg  it  was,  when  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  on  in  1861,  and  soon 
thereafter  the  school  house  at  the  foot  of  cemetery  hill  on  Ogden 
Avenue  was  serving  as  a  recruiting  station,  enlisting  men  for  the  war, 
with  Julius  Kurth  one  of  the  volunteers  acting  as  recruiting  officer. 
Here  Christian  Henrick,  Henry  Hahn,  Fred  Werden,  George  Hoehne, 
Morrel  Fuller,  John  Schultz,  and  Charles  Gager  joined  the  Union 
forces,  and  there  the  same  little  school  house  stood  until  about  1938 
explaining  the  three  R's  to  new  generations  of  Fullersburg  youngsters. 
Miss  Alice  Warren  and  Miss  Emma  Ostrum  are  among  those  of  Hins- 
dale who  attended  there. 

Many  places  throughout  the  northern  states  have,  according  to 
rumor,  tradition,  or  fact,  been  designated  as  stations  of  the  " Under- 
ground Railroad,"  that  system  by  which  "contrabands"  from  southern 
plantations  made  their  way  north,  to  freedom.  It  is  a  fact  that  Fullers- 
burg was  one  of  these  points  of  slave  refuge  and  transfer,  and  John  S. 
Coe  was  the  man,  or  at  least  he  was  one  of  those  who  served  as  station 
master.  Activities  that  are  conducted  in  secret  usually  go  unchronicled, 
but  in  the  absence  of  documents  or  personal  diaries  of  those  events,  we 
quote  this  word-picture  from  a  1923  issue  of  the  Chicago  Daily  News: 

A   REFUGE  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  SLAVERY 

"In  the  little  Hamlet  of  Brush  Hill  not  a  light  is  to  be  seen.  The  two  stores,  the 
taverns,  the  grist  mill,  the  half  dozen  houses  shrink  into  the  protecting  shadows 
of  the  huge  elms  and  maples  and  are  hardly  visible  from  the  road.  The  white- 
painted  posts  at  the  bridge  loom  weirdly  against  the  somber  curtain  of  willows 
along  the  banks  of  the  mill  stream. 

"A  farm  wagon,  driven  by  an  obscure  figure  muffled  to  the  ears  in  a  great 
coat,  rattles  across  the  bridge  and  continues  on  to  the  turnpike.  The  bed  of  the 


BRUSH  HILL  63 

wagon  is  covered  with  a  tarpaulin.  An  hour  or  so  later  the  wagon  rattles  over 
the  bridge  across  the  Desplaines  near  Riverside  and  continues  northeast  over 
the  route  of  Ogden  Avenue.  Near  dawn  it  draws  up  quietly  before  the  barn 
at  the  rear  of  the  residence  of  Philo  Carpenter,  at  Randolph  and  Carpenter 
Streets.  A  light  in  a  first  floor  window  blinks  a  signal  that  'all  is  well.' 

"The  driver  pulls  off  the  tarpaulin,  and  three  figures  crawl  from  the  pile 
of  hay  in  the  wagon-bed  and  dart  toward  the  cellar  door  of  the  Carpenter 
home,  which  opens  to  receive  them  and  closes  behind  them.  The  driver  makes 
his  way  to  the  Bull's  Head  Tavern  to  find  refreshment  for  man  and  beast." 

When  Mr.  Heman  Fox  was  a  boy,  he  saw  two  sleigh  loads  of  negro 
slaves  pass  his  father's  house  at  Ogden  and  Lincoln  one  day  before 
the  war.  The  cargo  was  covered  to  resemble  a  load  of  live  stock. 


For  want  of  better  accommodations  in  a  pioneering  community, 
Loie  Fuller  was  born  in  the  little  Castle  Inn.  It  was  an  extremely  cold 
night  during  the  1 86o's,  and  the  bar  room  of  the  hotel  had  the  only  cast 
iron  stove  that  gave  off  enough  heat  for  such  an  important  event.  The 
neighbors,  though  perhaps  not  the  transients,  who  were  not  aware  of 
these  proceedings,  were  willing  to  forego  their  use  of  these  quarters 
until  the  new  arrival  and  her  mother  were  up  and  around. 

After  Loie  was  able  to  walk,  her  parents  took  her  with  them  to 
several  presentations  of  the  Chicago  Progressive  Lyceum,  that  early 
movement  toward  culture  which  a  few  of  the  living  still  can  remember. 
On  one  of  these  occasions,  when  Loie  was  two  and  a  half,  she  slipped 
away  from  her  parents,  climbed  up  on  the  Lyceum  platform  and  re- 
cited the  prayer  she  had  learned  to  say  at  home.  There  was  applause, 
and  she  returned  the  salutation.  This  initiative  and  acumen  impressed 
the  manager  no  less  than  it  surprised  the  parents,  but  most  of  all  it  was 
an  early  indication  of  Loie  Fuller's  native  talents.  Thereafter  she  did 
Mary's  Little  Lamb  at  the  Lyceum,  and  not  many  years  were  to  pass 
before  she  began  taking  parts  in  plays  at  other  theatres.  She  had  a  rare 
gift  of  being  able  to  remember  pieces  after  one  or  two  readings,  and 
of  giving  expression  through  movement  as  well  as  speech. 

During  the  gas-light  era  Miss  Fuller,  in  her  early  Twenties,  was 
traveling  from  one  place  to  another  in  the  United  States  experiencing 
the  fluctuations  between  success  and  disappointment  that  are  known 
to  most  of  those  who  become  prominent  on  the  stage.  In  the  East  she 
created  her  Serpentine  Dance,  acquired  a  manager,  and,  accompanied 
by  her  mother,  went  to  Germany  to  try  her  fortunes  there. 


64  VILLAGE   ON   THE  COUNTY  LINE 

In  Germany  she  was  beset  with  troubles.  The  Opera  house  was 
closed  and  only  a  music  hall  was  available  for  her  appearances.  Her 
mother  became  seriously  ill,  and  soon  her  manager  quit.  Despondency 
affected  her  performances;  the  music  hall  contract  terminated,  so,  until 
her  mother  was  able  to  travel,  she  was  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  ap- 
pearing in  a  beer  garden.  This  time  they  moved  to  Paris. 

In  that  city  she  found  her  Serpentine  dance  being  imitated  at  the 
Folies-Bergere,  and  Loie  considered  it  such  a  poor  imitation  that  she 
induced  the  manager  of  the  theatre  to  employ  the  originator  of  the 
dance  instead. 

It  was  at  this  point  in  her  career  that  Loie  Fuller's  fame  as  a  dancer 
had  its  beginning.  In  Paris  she  devised  other  new  dances:  The  Violet, 
the  Flame,  the  Butterfly,  Fire  and  the  Lily,  and  others.  Electric  lights 
had  arrived  and  Loie  displayed  ingenuity  in  the  arrangement  of  light- 
ing effects  for  her  dances;  lights  of  changing  color,  some  overhead, 
others  shining  through  glass  in  the  floor  of  the  stage,  all  of  this  as  mere 
trimming,  however,  to  her  natural  charm  and  terpsichorean  vivacity. 

There  were  more  trials.  A  contract  to  appear  in  St.  Petersburg  had 
to  be  broken  because  of  her  mother's  illness,  and  the  Russians  brought 
suit  making  her  pay  large  damages  for  breaching  the  contract.  She 
made  many  friends  in  Paris,  however,  and  the  reputation  she  was 
building  there  held  much  promise  for  the  future.  Sarah  Bernhardt, 
whom  she  had  first  met  in  America,  attended  some  of  the  dancer's  per- 
formances and  solicited  her  advice  concerning  lighting  arrangements 
for  her  new  play  that  was  about  to  open  there.  An  old  friend  Loie  had 
met  in  Jamaica  introduced  her  to  Alexander  Dumas,  through  whom 
she  became  friends  of  M.  and  Mme.  Flammarion,  the  astronomers,  and 
Rodin  the  sculptor. 

Children  were  fascinated  by  Loie  Fuller's  dancing;  the  dances  were 
so  fairy-like  and  appealing  to  a  child's  imagination.  After  a  certain 
performance  for  children  one  little  girl  was  taken  behind  the  scenes 
to  meet  the  dancer,  who  by  that  time  had  changed  to  her  street  clothes. 
According  to  Miss  Fuller,  this  tot,  when  she  saw  her,  said  to  her  mother, 
"No,  I  don't  want  to  meet  her.  She's  just  a  fat  lady,  not  the  person  I 
saw  dancing." 

Royalty  too  (it  was  still  in  vogue  in  Europe  at  the  turn  of  the  cen- 
tury) liked  to  see  Loie  Fuller  dance.  She  appeared  at  the  palace  in 
Bucharest  for  Princess  Marie,  the  two  becoming  life-long  friends  there- 


BRUSH  HILL  65 

after.  She  danced  for  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Mecklenberg  at  the 
Hague,  and  for  the  king  of  Senegal  at  the  Colonial  Exposition  in 
Marseilles  in  1907.  Queen  Alexandria  of  England  went  to  the  theatre 
to  see  her  dance  in  Paris. 

An  appearance  at  the  Chinese  court  was  cancelled  after  the  journey 
to  China  had  started,  because  of  the  illness  of  her  mother.  By  now  she 
had  given  her  interpretation  of  the  Dance  of  Fear,  from  Salome,  and 
had  created  her  Dance  of  the  Pearls,  and  others.  One  time,  when  she 
was  dancing  at  the  Athenee  in  Paris  a  group  of  students  showered  the 
stage  with  violets.  After  the  performance  they  unhitched  Miss  Fuller's 
horse  from  the  carriage  and  themselves  drew  the  vehicle  to  her  house, 
with  her  in  it. 

As  her  personal  appearances  tapered  off  with  the  passing  of  the 
years,  Miss  Fuller  helped  several  aspiring  younger  artists  along  the 
road  to  success.  She  sponsored  two  or  three  Japanese  theatrical  com- 
panies, largely  through  her  interest  in  things  Oriental  and  in  one  little 
Nipponese  actress  in  particular.  For  one  of  these  troups  she  wrote  the 
plays,  and  they  were  successful  wherever  they  appeared.  She  helped 
a  poor  dancer  toward  a  career,  and  other  people,  who  were  blind,  or  in 
need  of  one  thing  or  another. 

At  a  function  given  in  honor  of  Kawakami,  a  notable  Japanese 
playwright,  who  understood  neither  French  nor  English,  and  at  which 
there  were  none  present  who  knew  Japanese,  Miss  Fuller  acted  as  inter- 
preter. How?  By  means  of  interpretive  gestures,  of  which  art  she  was 
master;  and  they  were  understood  by  the  others  at  the  gathering. 

Anatole  France,  in  his  introduction  to  Loie  Fuller's  autobiography 
says,  among  other  things:  "This  brilliant  artist  is  revealed  as  a  woman 
of  just  and  delicate  sensibility,  endowed  with  a  marvelous  perception 
of  spiritual  values.  She  is  one  who  is  able  to  grasp  the  profound  signifi- 
cance of  things  that  seem  insignificant,  and  to  see  the  splendor  hidden 
in  simple  lives.— not  that  she  is  especially  devoted  to  the  lowly,  the 
poor  in  spirit.  On  the  contrary  she  enters  easily  into  the  lives  of  artists 
and  scholars.  She  has  formulated,  without  desiring  to  do  so,  and  per- 
haps without  knowing  it,  a  considerable  theory  of  human  knowledge 
and  philosophy  of  art."  # 


*  Summarizing  Fifteen  Years  of  A  Dancer's  Life,  the  autobiography  of  Loie  Fuller. 


66 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


The  class  of  1889,  Fullersburg  School. 


By  the  year  1 874,  when  an  atlas  of  the  county  and  its  principal  towns 
was  published,  Fullersburg  had  emerged  from  the  frontier  and  was 
acquiring  the  aspects  of  a  residential  village.  Where  the  main  road  ran 
through,  it  was  called  Main  Street.  York  and  Cass  Streets  joined  to 
cross  it  north  and  south.  Jackson  and  Washington  Streets  were  being 
developed,  lots  had  been  plotted,  and  a  few  more  homes  were  going  up 
within  the  village. 

Owners  of  the  land  surrounding  Fullersburg  at  this  time,  most  of 
them  being  resident  farmers,  were  Marvin  Fox,  D.  K.  Foot,  David 
Thurston,  T.  S.  and  J.  W.  Rogers,  John  Hemshell,  C.  Fellows,  A.  Mc- 
Allister, David  Roth,  Benjamin  Fuller,  M.  Coffin,  Fred  Graue,  D.  and 
H.  Mayer,  A.  Frank,  H.  Bergman,  F.  Wegner,  Winkelman,  and 
Boerger. 

Before  publication  of  the  1874  atlas,  there  were  three  farms  in 
particular  adjacent  to  Fullersburg  which  were  to  be  associated  with 
the  development  of  Hinsdale.  These  were  the  farms  of  Jarvis  Fox, 
Anson  Ayres,  and  Alfred  Walker,  all  three  of  them  extending  south- 
ward from  Ogden  Avenue,  to  about  the  line  of  present-day  Chicago 


BRUSH  HILL  67 

Ave.  The  Ayres  farm  was  on  the  west,  Fox  in  the  middle,  and  Walker 
on  the  east.  All  three  of  these  properties  eventually  were  subdivided 
into  Hinsdale  home  lots. 

Have  you  seen  that  attractive  little  white  church  on  the  sloping 
west  side  of  the  northern  extension  of  Washington  Street,  a  little  south 
of  the  Creek?  The  church  is  especially  picturesque  when  viewed  across 
the  meadow  from  York  Road.  It  was  established  in  1878  and  called  St. 
John's  Lutheran  by  the  eleven  German  families  that  built  it.  Later, 
the  name  was  changed  to  St.  John's  Evangelical  and  Reformed  Church. 
Ax  first,  the  German  language  was  used  in  its  services,  but  this  has  long 
since  been  discontinued.  Since  the  beginning,  its  membership  has 
been  drawn  from  both  farm  and  village.  Charter  members  of  St.  John's 
Church  were  Joachim  Ross,  Henry  Heinke,  Frederick  Timke,  William 
Ostrum,  Charles  Schmidt,  J.  H.  Papenhausen,  and  John  Bohlander. 

We  come  now  to  1886,  a  year  in  which  the  state  of  Illinois  pub- 
lished another  business  directory.  Since  the  first  directory  in  1854, 
there  have  been  many  changes  and  additions: 

Reverend  F.  Boeber  is  listed  as  a  Lutheran  minister  and  Physician. 

W.  Bullerman Blacksmith 

C.  T.  Coe Manufacturer  of  Birch  Beer 

W.  Delicate  . Painter 

H.  Flechtner Mason 

Almeron  Ford  General  Store 

Adolph  Frosher       \ Carpenters 

William  Wegener    I 

Morell  Fuller Plasterer 

(He  was  also  a  musician.  When  square  dances  were  held  it  was 
Morell  Fuller  who  furnished  the  music  with  his  violin.) 

Fred  Graue Miller 

S.  Heineman General  Store 

W.  Hix Meat  Market 

John  C.  Eidam  j Blacksmiths 

H. Ignatz 

C.  Karnatz Shoemaker 

William  Ostrum   Mason 

John  F.  Ruchty Hotel,  and  Ice 

Paul  Rudolph  Physician 

Fred  Tunk Wagon  Maker 

Richard  Wrede Shoemaker 

Ernest  Zschack Saloon,  General  Store  and  Dance  Hall 

Almeron  Ford Postmaster 


68  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

The  village  of  Cass,  on  the  Plainfield  Road  southwest  of  Hinsdale, 
was  an  early  neighbor  of  Brush  Hill,  so  much  so  that  the  road  leading 
south  from  Brush  Hill  was  called  Cass  Street.  In  1 85 1  Benjamin  Fuller, 
J.  S.  Coe,  and  D.  W.  Boyd  of  Brush  Hill  had  petitioned  the  county  to 
build  a  road  between  the  two  places.  This  road  would  have  cut  diag- 
onally across  the  site  of  Hinsdale,  and  the  route  actually  was  surveyed, 
but  the  road  was  never  constructed.  There  was  talk  of  other  develop- 
ments in  the  same  area  and  possibly  the  people  of  Brush  Hill  foresaw 
a  day  when  they  would  have  neighbors  closer  than  those  at  Cass.  Indeed 
much  closer;  for  seventy-two  years  later  Brush  Hill  was  to  become  an- 
nexed to  the  village  of  Hinsdale. 


chapter  vi  Coming  of  the  Railroad 


IN  THE  1840^  the  carriage  of  freight  in  northern  Illinois  cost  the 
shipper  about  $10  per  ton  for  twenty  miles,  a  charge  that  was  so 
high  as  to  deter  commercial  expansion.  Passenger  travel  was  uncom- 
fortable. So  it  was  not  long  before  rails  were  laid,  running  westward 
from  Chicago.  By  1850  this  road,  the  Galena  &  Chicago  Union,  had 
reached  Elgin  and  was  aiming  for  points  beyond. 

Another  thriving  settlement  to  the  west,  Aurora,  was  in  need  of 
better  transportation.  So  the  enterprising  citizens  of  that  place  ob- 
tained a  charter  from  the  state  legislature,  in  1 849,  to  build  a  railroad 
from  Aurora  northward,  to  connect  with  the  Galena  &  Chicago  Union, 
thus  giving  Aurora  access  by  rail  to  the  city  of  Chicago.  This  juncture- 
point  with  the  Galena  line  was  Turner's  Junction,  later  to  be  known 
as  West  Chicago.  Over  wood  and  strap-iron  rails  the  new  line  from 
Aurora  was  soon  hauling  its  cars  all  the  way  to  Chicago,  and  it  was 
named  the  Aurora  Branch  Railroad.  This  new  road  then  expanded 
westward  from  Aurora  to  Mendota,  to  Galesburg,  Peoria,  Quincy, 
and  to  Burlington,  Iowa,  and  eventually  its  name  was  changed  to  the 
Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy.  * 

It  was  not  long  before  the  need  of  a  direct  route  between  Aurora 
and  Chicago  became  apparent,  to  avoid  the  12  miles  from  Aurora 
northward  to  Turner  Junction  before  entering  the  city.  Rails  of  its 
own,  leading  into  Chicago,  were  advisable  for  other  reasons  also.  The 
time  could  be  foreseen  when  traffic  would  be  heavy  enough  to  demand 
double  and  perhaps  triple  tracks  over  the  city  approaches,  and  land  for 
freight  terminals,  yards,  maintenance,  and  switching  facilities  would 
be  needed.  But  in  addition  to  these  requirements,  the  towns  of  Lyons, 
Brush  Hill,  Downers  Grove,  Lisle,  and  Naperville  wanted  a  railroad 
to  pass  through  their  communities.  Although  the  name  of  Mr.  Alfred 
Walker  does  not  appear  on  the  petition  of  these  towns  (Page  70)  he 
too  was  desirous  of  having  the  rails  come  through;  so  much  so  that  he 
donated  the  southern  fringe  of  his  farm  lands  for  road-bed  purposes. 


*  During  this  year,  1949,  the  C  B  &  Q  observes  its  "milestone  100. 

69 


To  the  President,  Board  of  Directors  and  Stockholders  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington 
&  Quincy  Railroad  Company. 

Gentlemen  : 

We  respectfully  beg  leave  to  submit  for  your  consideration  a  few  facts 
connected  with  the  building  of  an  independent  track  from  Chicago,  via  Naperville,  to 
connect  with  your  road  at  Aurora. 

This  route,  which  is  at  present  deprived  of  Railroad  facilities,  is  not  surpassed  for 
diversified  beauty  and  productiveness  by  any  section  of  Northern  Illinois.  With  these 
natural  advantages  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  is  now  for  the  most  part  thickly  set- 
tled with  an  enterprising  population. 

No  section  of  the  country  between  Lake  Michigan  and  Fox  River  affords  equal 
inducements  to  the  farmer  and  mechanic,  and  no  part  of  the  West,  of  easy  access  to 
Chicago,  presents  the  same  attractions  to  families  in  the  city  who  are  seeking  resi- 
dences in  the  country ;  for,  while  no  portion  of  the  route  is  too  remote,  it  lies  through 
a  beautiful  region  which  is  proverbial  for  its  healthfulness. 

We  would  add,  for  your  consideration,  the  following  statistics  of  the  business 
transacted  during  the  past  year  at  the  different  points  on  the  route  of  your  contem- 
plated road. 

Lyons,  ten  miles  west  from  Chicago,  is  a  point  which  your  road  would  soon  bring 
into  notice  for  business  and  for  suburban  residences,  and  although  it  is  but  a  short 
distance  from  Chicago,  its  business  would  be  desirable  to  any  Road.  It  is  estimated 
that  this  would  be  one  of  the  most  remunerative  stations  within  fifty  miles  of  the 
city.  There  are  inexhaustible  quarries  of  stone  here  of  the  very  best  quality  for  lime 
and  suitable  for  building  purposes.  The  demand  for  rubble  stone,  for  the  city  of 
Chicago,  on  this  place  would  be  immense,  and  could  be  supplied  to  any  extent. 

The  Lime  business,  as  now  carried  on,  has  furnished,  during  the  past  year,  to 
Chicago,  over  100,000  barrels,  equal  to  20,000,000  lbs.,  at  a  cost  for  transportation  of 
more  than  $13,000.  Your  road  would  open  a  new  and  extensive  market  to  this  busi- 
ness, from  the  west,  which  could  be  supplied  to  any  amount. 

There  is  an  extensive  Brewery  at  this  place,  which  now  furnishes  freight  equal 
to  one  car-load  per  day.  With  Railroad  facilities  this  establishment  would  more  than 
double  its  present  freight,  for  at  least  nine  months  in  the  year,  and  has  capacity  to 
supply  any  increased  demand  which  the  building  of  your  road  would  create. 

Other  local  freights,  not  enumerated  above,  would  equal,  if  not  exceed,  any  other 
station  within  the  same  distance  from  the  city  of  Chicago. 

Brush  Hill,  six  miles  west  from  Lyons  and  sixteen  from  Chicago,  is  the  centre 
of  a  well  settled  and  productive  country,  where  a  fair  business  is  now  transacted,  and, 
with  a  Railroad,  would  soon  grow  into  importance.  There  is  a  Flouring  Mill  at  this 
place  which  keeps  two  teams  constantly  on  the  road  to  and  from  Chicago. 

Downer's  Grove,  five  miles  west  from  Brush  Hill  and  twenty-one  miles  from  Chi- 
cago, is  also  the  centre  of  a  rich  farming  country  which  is  well  settled.  This  point 
would  draw  the  business  of  a  large  section,  the  produce  of  which  now  finds  a  market 
either  at  Lockport  or  is  taken  directly  to  Chicago  by  teams.  The  grain  raised  in  this 
section  of  country,  which  would  make  this  its  depot,  during  the  last  year  was  397,560 
bushels. 

The  merchandise  tonnage  for  the  same  time,  to  and  from  Chicago,  amounted  to 
250  tons  or  500,000  lbs.,  besides  Lumber.  That  may  be  safely  estimated  at  550,000 
feet,  or  equal  to  1,650,000.  Total,  2,150,000  lbs.  freight.  The  passenger  traffic  at 
this  point  would  be  no  inconsiderable  item. 

Naperville,  the  county  seat  of  Du  Page  County,  seven  miles  west  of  Downer's 
Grove  and  28  miles  from  Chicago,  is  situated  in  as  productive  and  well  settled  a  por- 
tion of  the  country  as  can  be  found  in  the  State. 

Its  population  exceeds  2,000.  It  is  over  seven  miles  south  of  the  Galena  and  Chi- 
cago Union  Railroad  and  three  miles  from  the  village  of  Warrenville,  a  flourishing 
town,  with  a  good  business,  a  flouring  mill  and  a  saw  mill. 

On  the  south,  twelve  miles,  is  the  village  of  Plainfield,  and  on  the  south-east,  Lock- 
port,  fifteen  miles,  and  Joliet  twenty  miles.  These  are  the  nearest  business  points  in 
this  direction. 

Naperville  enjoys  a  large  trade  from  the  country  for  many  miles  around,  drawing 
business  from  the  north,  south  and  south-east — principally  from  the  south  and  south- 
east. 

There  are  eighteen  stores  in  this  place,  a  large  plow  and  wagon  factory,  and  other 
manufactories,  two  lumber  yards,  two  extensive  breweries  doing  a  large  business  and 
keeping  in  their  employ  six  teams,  two  flouring  mills  and  two  saw  mills  at  and  within 


Wheat,    -       - 

-       -  215,236  bushels. 

Oats,      -       - 

-       -     285,960       " 

Vegetables, 

-      -       85,052       " 

one  and  one-half  miles  of  the  town.  Few  towns  with  Railroad  facilities,  and  none 
without,  having  continued  to  thrive  equal  to  this. 

The  produce  of  this  section  finds  its  way  to  market  by  the  G.  &  C.  U.  R.  R.  and 
by  teams  to  Lockport  and  Chicago  direct,  at  least  nineteen-twentieths  of  which  goes 
to  the  two  latter  places. 

The  amount  of  grain  raised  during  the  past  year,  in  the  section  of  country  that 
would  make  this  point  its  depot,  was  as  follows: 

Corn,  -       -       -     239,300  bushels. 

Rye,  Barley  and  Wheat,  22,436       * ' 

The  amount  of  Wool  marketed  at  this  place  last  year  was  71,000  lbs.  The  above 
amount  of  grain  was  obtained  by  actual  census,  under  direction  of  the  Du  Page  County 
Agricultural  Society. 

The  merchandise  tonnage  for  the  past  year,  to  and  from  this  place,  was  3,900  tons, 
or  7,800,000  lbs.  Lumber  for  dealers,  2,000,000  feet,  or  6,000,000  lbs.  Estimated 
amount  of  lumber  for  others,  750,000  feet,  or  2,250,000  lbs. — making  a  total  of 
16,050,000  lbs.  freight. 

There  are  two  lines  of  stages  from  this  place  to  the  G.  &  C.  U.  R.  R.,  each  making 
two  trips  daily  to  and  from  said  road,  which  carried,  on  an  average,  during  the  past 
year,  twenty-six  passengers  per  day;  making  an  aggregate  of  8138  passengers  per 
annum.  It  is  estimated  that  at  least  one-third  as  many  more  go  and  come  by  private 
conveyance,  making  a  total  of  10,851  passengers  to  and  from  this  point  annually. 

This  town  is  well  supplied  with  lime  and  stone  for  building  purposes,  and  gravel 
which  could  be  used  for  ballast. 

The  foregoing  statistics,  for  the  accuracy  of  which  we  hold  ourselves  responsible, 
founded,  as  they  are,  upon  facts,  show  the  actual  business  of  the  different  points 
without  Railroad  facilities.  We  firmly  believe  that  the  business  of  all  kinds,  in  the 
section  alluded  to,  would  quadruple  within  two  years  from  the  completion  of  your 
road. 

No  Railroad  leaving  Chicago  traverses  as  beautiful  and  well  settled  a  section  of 
country  as  would  your  contemplated  road.  We  confidently  believe  that  the  business 
between  Chicago  and  Aurora  would  be  as  remunerative  as  any  section  of  your  road 
of  equal  length.  The  passenger  traffic  alone,  on  this  route  as  shown  above,  would  be 
very  large.  Not  on  this  part  of  the  road  alone  would  this  be  increased;  but  by  bring- 
ing Aurora  in  direct  communication  with  Chicago,  by  a  straight  line,  and  shortening 
the  distance  over  six  miles,  the  number  of  passengers  would  doubtless  increase.  As 
before  stated,  most  of  the  grain  and  other  produce  of  this  section  now  finds  market 
either  at  Lockport  or  Chicago  direct,  which  would  find  its  way  to  market  over  your 
road. 

As  representatives  of  the  people  along  the  line  of  the  proposed  road,  we  offer 
you  their  united  support  and  pledge  you  the  right  of  way  between  the  west  line  of 
Du  Page  County  and  the  Desplaines  River  at  Lyons, — embracing  some  twenty-four 
miles  of  the  route, — and  probably  the  greater  portion  of  the  distance  from  the  last 
named  point  to  the  city  limits  of  Chicago, — free  of  cost,  provided  the  road  is  soon 
built. 


July  28th,  1858. 


MORRIS  SLEIGHT, 
JOS.  NAPER, 
JOHN  COLLINS, 
GEORGE  MARTIN, 
JAS.  G.  WRIGHT, 
HIRAM  BRISTOL, 
S.  M.  SKINNER, 
JOHN  JASSOY, 


Members  of  Committee 
residing  at  Naperville. 


H.  CARPENTER,  )    _ 

WALTER  BLANCHARD,   \    Downer  s  Grove« 

FREDERICK  GRAY,     )    „       ,    _„ 
BENJAMIN  FULLER,   \    ^rusn  miL 

STEPHEN  WHITE,    ) 

F.  T.  SHERMAN,  Lyons. 

S.  T.  SWIFT, 


Courtesy  of  the  C.  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  Co. 


72  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

With  arguments  and  reasons  accumulating  daily  in  favor  of  the 
new  line,  the  die  was  soon  cast.  The  following  resolution,  adopted  at 
the  C  B  &  Q  stockholders  meeting  June  20,  1862,  set  the  machinery  in 
motion,  and  it  gives  expression  to  the  chief  factor  in  determining  the 
location  of  Hinsdale: 

Resolved,  that  the  Board  of  Directors  of  this  company,  be  and  they  are  hereby 
authorized  to  construct  a  branch  road  from  the  company's  main  line,  in  the 
city  of  Aurora  in  Kane  County,  to,  and  into  the  City  of  Chicago,  by  the  way  of 
Naperville,  and  to  acquire  depot  and  station  grounds,  and  such  other  lands 
as  may  be  required  .  .  .  pursuant  to  authority  granted  by  an  act  of  the  Legis- 
lature etc.,  etc 

It  will  seem  strange  to  present-day  readers  that  the  directors  should 
have  referred  to  the  new  line  as  a  "branch  road."  It  was,  of  course,  so 
considered  because  the  main  line  at  that  time  was  the  one  to  the  north 
of  us. 

Actual  construction  was  hampered  by  the  war  between  the  states 
which  made  labor  scarce  and  slowed  the  delivery  of  materials.  Little 
mention  was  made  of  the  progress  of  the  new  line  in  the  Chicago  papers 
of  the  day,  owing  partly  to  the  preponderance  of  war  news.  The  con- 
flict was  entering  its  crucial  stage,  and  in  Chicago  at  this  time  there  was 
a  flurry  of  excitement  arising  out  of  an  alleged  conspiracy  to  free  all 
the  Confederate  prisoners  at  Camp  Douglas,  out  on  Cottage  Grove 
Avenue.  Moreover,  there  was  censorship  of  news  about  railroad  and 
industrial  building.  Confederate  spies  are  known  to  have  operated  in 
Chicago,  one  having  been  captured  there  in  1862.  A  Railroad  strike 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  war  did  nothing  to  help  the  project,  and 
the  winter  of  1 864  was  one  of  the  most  severe  on  record. 

Although  Frederick  Graue  (spelled  "Gray"  in  the  petition)  and 
Benjamin  Fuller  of  Brush  Hill  were  among  the  petitioners  for  the  new 
road,  the  line  was  not  run  directly  through  their  village,  because  of 
engineering  considerations,  having  to  do  with  land  contours  and  the 
desirability  of  straight  track  wherever  this  could  be  achieved.  Also 
there  were  difficulties  in  building  south  of  Fullersburg.  The  "flats," 
that  stretch  of  land  between  Highlands  and  Western  Springs,  which 
then  was  an  extensive  swamp  where  boating  and  skating  were  popular, 
presented  a  serious  obstacle.  Old  timers  remember  stories  of  the  new 
track  and  its  embankment  sinking  into  the  mire.  Some  say  that  a  few 
cars  sank  out  of  sight  one  night,  as  happened  on  a  section  of  the  Cana- 


COMING   OF   THE  RAILROAD  73 

dian  Pacific  when  it  was  building.  Whether  that  occurred  here  is  open 
to  question,  but  in  the  railroad  company's  annual  report  of  1865  we 
find  this  statement:  "A  large  amount  of  earth-work  has  been  done  be- 
tween Lyons  and  Hinsdale,  where  the  road  crosses  a  low  marsh,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  sinking  of  the  embankment  for  a  distance  of  about  700 
feet."  Further,  the  report  says,  "New  fence  has  been  built  along  eight- 
een miles  of  the  Road,  which  completes  the  fencing."  This  was  to 
keep  the  cows  off  the  track,  a  problem  that  presented  more  difficulties 
through  the  suburbs  than  it  did  out  in  the  country!  These  fences  are 
noted  in  early  sketches  of  scenes  along  the  line. 

It  seems  strange  to  picture  a  railroad  construction  crew  at  what 
is  now  the  center  of  town,  when  there  was  nothing  else  here  at  all, 
other  than  temporary  quarters  for  the  track  workers  and  Mr.  Walker's 
farm  buildings  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  north,  with  perhaps  a  path 
and  a  wagon  trail  here  and  there. 

Finally  the  rails  reached  all  the  way  to  Aurora,  and  on  the  morning 
of  May  23,  1864,  The  Chicago  Tribune  carried  this  news  item: 

"The  new  line  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railway  between  this 
city  and  Aurora  is  completed,  and  the  cars  have  been  running  over  it  for 
several  days  past.  This  new  road  will  bring  us  into  direct  railway  connection 
with  Lyons,  Brush  Hill,  Downers  Grove,  Naperville,  and  other  points  ...  a 
matter  of  very  considerable  interest  to  the  residents  along  this  new  line,  as  also 
to  our  city.  This  arrangement  is  very  important  to  the  Company,  as  every  rail- 
way must  control  its  termini  in  order  to  do  an  independent  really  successful 
business." 

The  new  road  was  double  tracked  from  Chicago  to  the  Desplaines 
River,  and  consisted  of  a  single  track  from  there  to  Aurora.  According 
to  the  Land  Owner  map  of  1 869,  (see  back  end-sheet)  there  were  two 
passing  tracks  where  the  line  ran  through  Hinsdale,  and  the  station 
was  located  between  the  two  sidings,  a  little  west  of  Washington  Street. 
This  first  passenger  station  was  erected  in  1 864,  and  has  served  as  the 
freight  depot  since  the  present  passenger  station  was  built.  The  old 
building,  still  west  of  Washington,  has  been  altered  occasionally,  to 
meet  new  conditions,  but  its  remaining  walls  are  of  the  original  brick. 

Hinsdale's  rail  fans  will  be  interested  in  this  1864  letter  written 
by  Edward  L.  Baker,  Chairman  of  the  C.  B.  8c  Q.,  to  C.  G.  Hammond, 
Superintendent  in  Chicago,  concerning  the  purchase  of  two  locomo- 
tives. 


74  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Boston,  6th  Mo.  18th  1864 
C.  G.  Hammond,  Esq. 
Esteemed  Friend 

Your  favor  of  the  15th  is  at  hand.  The  engines  were  bought  today 
for  $21,000,  the  two.  They  have  just  been  painted  and  varnished,  one 
of  them  is  having  cylinders  cased  with  brass  instead  of  iron  ....  I  have 
set  George  Weed  at  work  to  get  a  good  Master  Mechanic  to  inspect  the 
engines  before  delivery,  and  to  get  a  good  trusty  engineer  started  with 
them  from  Concord,  N.H.  with  plenty  of  oil  to  put  them  through  by 
way  of  Troy  and  Buffalo. 

Yours  very  truly, 
Edward  L.  Baker 

These  "funnel"  stacked  veterans  were  to  pass  and  re-pass  through 
Hinsdale  hundreds  of  times  after  their  arrival  from  New  Hampshire. 

The  cars  of  that  day,  viewed  from  the  outside,  were  square  looking 
at  the  ends,  and  were  painted  a  bright  color.  Inside,  the  seats  were  ar- 
ranged much  the  same  as  they  are  today  except  that  there  were  no  long 
side  seats  near  the  doors  of  the  car.  But  space  was  provided  for  a  stove 
at  each  end,  though  sometimes  a  single  stove  served,  in  the  middle  of 
the  car,  with  a  box  of  wood  for  fuel.  Kerosene  lamps  gave  light.  The 
car  trucks  were  a  combination  of  wood  and  iron  members,  bolted  to- 
gether. At  this  date  air  brakes  had  not  arrived,  nor  had  the  automatic 
coupler.  Hand  operated  brakes,  and  the  old  link  and  pin  coupler  were 
to  serve  until  well  along  in  the  Eighties. 

Train  dispatching  by  telegraph  had  become  standard  practice  back 
in  the  Fifties,  but  automatic  block  signals,  electrically  operated,  were 
a  long  way  off.  The  old  "high  ball"  signal,  consisting  of  a  sphere  about 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter  which  could  be  raised  or  lowered  on  a 
high  pole,  had  been  replaced  by  the  hand  operated  semaphore.  With 
the  dispatching  of  trains  by  telegraph,  "train  orders"  became  standard 
practice.  The  engineer  was  handed  a  written  message,  before  starting 
on  a  run,  instructing  him  concerning  other  trains  he  was  to  meet  on 
the  way,  the  stops  to  be  made,  and  any  other  information  that  was 
pertinent  to  a  safe  and  expeditious  journey.  These  train  orders  were 
subject  to  cancellation  and  revision,  in  which  event  the  engineer  would 
be  handed  new  orders  at  some  station  along  the  way,  all  these  arrange- 
ments being  made  by  telegraph.  Operators  of  telegraph  instruments 
were  important  people  in  those  days,  for  the  safety  of  trains  depended 
upon  the  accuracy  of  their  messages;  and  special  examples  of  alertness 


COMING   OF    THE   RAILROAD 


75 


Courtesy  of  the  C.  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  Co. 

Number  nine  hauled  trains  through  Hinsdale  between  1865  and  1885. 


on  their  part  often  were  mentioned  in  the  novels  of  the  period,  in 
which  the  dispatcher  frequently  was  the  hero  of  the  story. 

According  to  the  company's  records,  two  passenger  cars  were  con- 
verted into  sleepers  in  1859.  A  contract  for  laying  track  in  1865  called 
for  rail  weighing  "not  less  than  50  pounds  to  the  yard"  and  for  "iron 
chairs,"  these  preceding  the  present-day  tie  plates.  The  prevailing 
length  of  rail  in  those  days  was  27  feet.  Today's  rail  weighs  well  over 
125  pounds  per  yard,  and  is  35  feet  long. 

The  locomotive  shown  in  the  accompanying  photograph  is  one  that 
hauled  trains  through  Hinsdale  during  the  period  1865-85.  It  was  an 
experimental  engine.  Note  the  driving  rods  are  on  the  inner  sides  of 
the  wheels;  the  rods  worked  on  crank  throws  on  the  axles,  instead  of 
on  crank  pins  on  the  outer  sides,  on  the  wheel  hubs.  The  design  was 
not  continued.  Originally  a  wood  burner,  later  changed  to  coal,  this 
locomotive  was  built  in  the  early  i85o's. 

The  length  of  the  new  line  was  35 14  miles.  The  maximum  grades 
east  and  west  were  28  feet  to  the  mile  and  the  highest  point  was  140 
feet  above  the  level  at  Chicago.  The  grades  have  been  reduced  over 
the  years. 


76  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Cause  and  effect.  What  resulted  from  the  building  of  this  railroad 
line?  The  first,  and  one  of  the  most  portentous  results  was  the  arrival 
of  Mr.  William  Robbins,  a  most  unusual  person.  Originally  from  New 
York  state,  Mr.  Robbins,  who  joined  the  Forty  Niners  as  a  young 
man,  was  a  merchant  on  the  Pacific  coast  for  a  while,  but  returned.  He 
finally  entered  the  real  estate  business  in  Illinois.  Having  sensed  the 
impending  development  of  Chicago's  western  suburbs,  he  bought 
eight  hundred  acres  of  land  here  in  1862,  built  a  house  the  following 
year,  the  one  (remodeled  and  enlarged)  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  S.  W. 
Banning  at  120  E.  Fifth  Street.  He  fenced  in  a  large  part  of  the  tract 
and  started  out  as  a  stock  farmer,  while  keeping  an  eye  on  further 
developments.  His  land  was  purchased  from  one  Robert  Jones  of  New 
York,  who  had  obtained  it  from  the  Government,  possibly  from  the 
Commissioner  of  the  Illinois-Michigan  Canal,  because  this  area  lay 
within  the  canal  strip.  But  most  of  the  land  around  here  was  then 
held  by  speculators  who  were  offering  it  at  from  $7  to  $25  per  acre, 
according  to  Blanchard. 

Mr.  Robbin's  acres  were  south  of  Alfred  Walker's  southern  bound- 
ary and  comprised,  roughly,  the  south-east  quarter  of  Hinsdale  with 
Seventh  Street  as  the  south  boundary,  and  including  the  west  half  of 
section  7  in  Cook  County.  This  tract  was  rolling,  and  attractive  in 
other  respects,  with  tiny  Flagg  Creek  bordering  it  on  the  north.  It 
included  several  ponds  of  various  sizes  and  a  tributary  to  the  creek  cut- 
ting across  the  farm.  The  terrain  was  high,  and  dry  too,  except  for 
thoses  undrained  spots.  Wild  geese  flocked  through  as  the  seasons 
changed,  and  deer  were  frequent  visitors.  Most  of  Mr.  Robbin's  tract 
was  almost  treeless.  A  dense  belt  of  oaks  across  the  County  Line  ex- 
tended northward  along  the  moraine  into  Walker's  farm,  and  there 
were  many  trees  west  of  there,  but  this  plot  south  of  Flagg  Creek  was 
mostly  bare  except  for  patches  of  tall  prairie  grass.  At  about  this  time 
John  Hemshell,  a  newly  arrived  resident  of  Brush  Hill,  shot  a  wolf 
near  the  Garfield  and  Third  Street  intersection. 

Jarvis  Fox  was  building  a  big  house  on  the  hill  now  occupied  by 
the  Memorial  Building,  and  there  were  farms  in  every  direction. 
Fullersburg  was  the  nearest  village.  A  few  huts  and  cabins  were  clus- 
tered around  the  mineral  springs  east  of  the  swamps.  Cass,  to  the  south- 
west, and  Lyonsville,  southeast  were,  like  Fullersburg,  well  established 
communities  on  main  highways.  The  old  town  of  Downers  Grove,  an- 


COMING   OF   THE  RAILROAD  77 

other  center  of  agriculture,  was  to  the  west.  A  dirt  road  along  the 
County  Line,  passing  through  the  property  on  the  east  was  little  more 
than  a  wagon  trail,  and  a  similar  road  ran  north  and  south  on  what  is 
now  Garfield  Avenue,  which  served  as  a  line  of  communication  be- 
tween Brush  Hill  and  the  Plainfield  Road.  Over  these  paths  a  buggy 
or  wagon  could  reach  a  stage  road  to  the  north  or  south. 

Farming,  however,  was  not  Mr.  Robbin's  ultimate  objective.  He 
visualized  the  potential  value  of  this  land,  and  the  figure  was  too  high 
for  the  growing  of  crops.  Instead,  he  foresaw  here  a  residential  com- 
munity, having  as  many  desirable  attributes  as  could  be  brought 
together,  endowed  by  nature  with  the  charm  of  a  rural  setting,  but 
close  enough  to  the  metropolis,  with  its  larger  industrial  interests. 
Improved  transportation  would  bring  them  together.  So  Mr.  Robbins 
set  his  objective,  and  went  to  work. 

After  completing  his  small  temporary  residence  on  Fifth  Street, 
on  a  rise  of  ground  which  at  that  time  overlooked  a  spring-fed  pond 
at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  to  the  northwest,  he  had  become  so  convinced 
of  a  promising  future  for  this  area  that  he  decided  to  build  a  larger 
house.  This  he  erected  on  the  north  side  of  Sixth  Street  about  midway 
between  Oak  and  County  Line,  the  house  that  was  later  to  be  occupied 
by  the  Washburns  for  many  years,  and  which  is  now  owned  by  Mr. 
W.  H.  Payne.  This  place  was  developed  into  a  fine  country  estate,  with 
meadows  for  lawns  and  secondary  roads  for  its  driveways,  and  with 
stock  raising  soon  to  be  combined  with  real  estate  development.  In 
the  year  1 866,  according  to  Blanchard,  Mr.  Robbins  laid  out  the  north- 
west quarter  of  Section  1 2  in  lots,  varying  in  size  from  one  acre  to  lots 
having  sixty-six  feet  of  frontage.  In  the  same  year  Mr.  H.  W.  G.  Cleve- 
land, a  noted  landscape  gardener,  was  employed  to  mark  off  the  streets, 
some  of  which  were  to  be  curving,  and  to  plant  trees  along  their  bor- 
ders. Today  those  Elms  are  the  most  venerable  now  growing  in  the  vil- 
lage. There  were  graveled  walks,  adjoining  wooden  sidewalks.  This 
area,  the  central  part  of  which  was  at  first  called  Robbins  Park,  and  all 
of  which  is  now  known  as  Robbin's  First,  and  Robbin's  Park  additions, 
extends  from  the  railroad  south  to  Seventh,  and  from  Garfield  to 
County  Line. 

Two  or  three  small  houses  were  built  along  these  streets,  for  sale 
to  those  who  wanted  them,  and  the  first  to  occupy  one  of  these  was  the 
family  of  James  Swartout.  The  Swartout  family  remained  there  for  a 


78  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

long  time.  Afterward  their  house  was  occupied  by  the  Carl  Thayers. 
Reverend  C.  M.  Barnes,  who  later  opened  a  large  book  store  in  Chi- 
cago, next  bought  a  lot  of  Mr.  Robbins  and  built  a  house  on  it.  When 
a  son,  William  Robbins,  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barnes,  he  was 
presented  with  a  lot  by  Mr.  Robbins.  At  about  the  same  time  Mr. 
Edwin  Bowles  arrived  and  built  the  house  which  stands  immediately 
south  of  the  First  National  Bank.  The  Bank  site  used  to  be  the  Bowles' 
side  yard. 

The  mail  came  through  Fullersburg  during  these  formative  years. 
Summit  was  also  an  active  settlement  then,  and  it  is  said  that  while  the 
Civil  War  was  still  in  progress  a  boy  was  frequently  sent  over  there  for 
papers  and  the  war  news. 

After  the  railroad  had  been  built  through  in  '64,  and  a  station 
erected,  the  place  still  had  no  name.  Usually  there  is  more  than  one 
version  of  how  places  acquire  their  names,  and  Hinsdale  is  no  excep- 
tion. According  to  The  Hinsdale  Doings  of  Sept.  7,  1944,  the  name 
could  have  had  any  one  of  three  separate  origins:  First,  H.  W.  Hins- 
dale, a  Chicago  merchant  told  a  Hinsdale  writer  in  1890  that  the 
town  had  been  named  for  him  because  he  had  assisted  the  railroad  con- 
tractors financially. 

Second,  Isaac  S.  Bush,  early  Postmaster  of  Brush  Hill  and  Hinsdale 
merchant,  told  a  writer  in  1897,  tnat  when  the  Burlington  was  laying 
its  tracks  Colonel  Hammond,  in  charge  of  the  project,  asked  Bush 
what  they  should  call  the  new  station.  Bush  said,  "Brush  Hill."  Ham- 
mond disagreed,  and  asked  Bush  to  submit  other  names.  "Hinsdale" 
was  then  suggested  by  Bush,  remembering  his  owji  birthplace  at  Hins- 
dale, N.  Y.,  and  he  also  suggested  Olean,  another  New  York  town. 
"Soon  after  this,"  said  Mr.  Bush,  "the  name  Hinsdale  appeared,  at- 
tached to  a  shanty  at  the  Main  Street  (Garfield)  Crossing."  Prior  to 
this,  the  name  Brush  Hill  had  appeared,  and  before  that,  the  name 
Hazel  Glen,  at  the  same  location. 

Third,  Mr.  Robbins  is  said  to  have  named  the  station  "Hinsdale." 
A  Hinsdale  writer  of  1 897  feels  quite  certain  that  he  was  the  one.  This 
third  version  has  been  sustained  by  the  late  Mrs.  Walter  Field  who 
thoroughly  investigated  Hinsdale's  past. 

A  book  written  by  Henry  Gannett,  entitled  Place  Names  in  the 
United  States,  published  in  1905  by  the  United  States  Geological  Sur- 
vey, gives  this:  "Hinsdale,  village  in  DuPage  County,  Illinois,  named 


COMING   OF   THE  RAILROAD  79 

for  H.  W.  Hinsdale,  a  prominent  railroad  man,  and  from  the  town 
of  Hinsdale,  New  York."  Possibly  this  book  was  the  source  of  a 
rumored  belief  that  Mr.  Hinsdale  was  a  director  or  an  officer  of  the 
C.  B.  Sc  Q.;  the  Burlington,  however,  has  never  had  an  official  of  that 
name. 

Mr.  Lester  Childs,  while  he  was  a  student  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan, 
met  a  woman  who  knew  a  Doctor  Hinsdale  who  was  practicing  in  Ann 
Arbor.  She  said  she  had  heard  that  this  Dr.  Hinsdale  had  a  brother  for 
whom  Hinsdale,  Illinois  was  named.  That  was  in  1898. 

After  reviewing  the  various  rumors  and  traditions  concerning  the 
naming  of  the  village  the  Friends  of  the  Library's  history  committee 
wrote  to  the  town  clerk  of  Hinsdale,  N.  Y.,  asking  for  information 
about  Mr.  H.  W.  Hinsdale.  The  clerk  replied:  We  have  no  record  of  an 
H.  W.  Hinsdale."  So,  as  the  saying  goes,  ''you  pay  your  money  and  take 
your  choice." 

Little  or  no  significance  is  attached  to  the  absence  of  a  record  of 
Mr.  H.  W.  Hinsdale  in  Hinsdale,  N.  Y.,  because  that  town  has  no 
public  library,  and  Mr.  Hinsdale  has  been  away  from  there  quite  a 
while  if  he  moved  to  Chicago  prior  to  1 864. 

This  suggestion  is  offered:  It  is  possible  for  all  three  of  the  claimed 
origins  to  be  correct.  In  fact  the  larger  the  number  who  favored  the 
name  Hinsdale,  the  more  likely  it  was  for  that  to  have  been  the  name 
selected. 

With  all  the  speculation  concerning  the  origin  of  this  name,  which 
implies,  of  course,  a  sense  of  its  importance  and  the  pride  Hinsdaleans 
take  in  it,  how  humiliating  it  is  to  learn  what  happened  one  day  soon 
after  the  name  became  official.  A  farm  woman  coming  through  by 
train  heard  the  conductor  call  out  the  name  of  the  station.  "Hen's  tail," 
said  she,  "what  a  funny  name  for  a  town." 

How  did  our  neighboring  villages  along  the  "Q"  acquire  their 
names?  The  first  neighbor  to  the  west  was  named  for  Clarendon  Hills, 
Massachusetts,  a  suburb  south  of  Boston.  Western  Springs  is  the  name 
that  was  given  to  the  mineral  springs  found  flowing  there  (south  of 
the  railroad  on  the  rise  of  land  east  of  the  "flats")  and  which  had  at- 
tracted a  few  persons  to  the  site  before  the  railroad  was  built.  La 
Grange  was  named  after  La  Grange,  Tennessee.  The  name  Westmont 
is  said  to  have  originated  because  it  is  descriptive  of  a  westerly  location 
on  high  ground.  Fairview  Avenue  replaces  the  old  flag-stop  station  long 


80  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

known  as  Greggs.  Downer's  Grove  hails  back  to  its  early  settler,  Pierce 
Downer. 

In  1866  Mr.  Robbins  built  a  stone  school  house  at  the  top  of  the 
hill  on  Main  Street  (Garfield)  where  the  large  brick  grade  school  now 
stands.  It  was  thought  by  some  that  there  would  not  be  enough  children 
to  occupy  the  new  building,  with  its  two  fair-sized  rooms  and  a  larger 
room  above  them.  But  the  need  was  imminent,  as  disclosed  by  events 
of  the  months  which  followed. 

The  late  Mary  H.  Saunders,  formerly  residing  at  the  King- 
Bruwaert  House,  tells  of  the  arrival  here  of  her  father,  C.  M.  Saunders, 
in  1866.  He  had  come  to  Chicago  from  Boston  to  study  at  the  Union 
Park  Theological  Seminary,  and  her  mother  soon  followed. 

"Father  was  assigned  to  the  village  church  at  Lyonsville  as  student 
pastor.  The  railroad  did  not  touch  Lyonsville,  so  when  father  came 
out  Saturday  for  the  Sunday  services  he  was  met  at  the  Hinsdale  sta- 
tion by  one  of  the  members  of  the  Lyonsville  Church.  He  used  to  tell 
of  his  first  sight  of  Hinsdale— 'A  half  dozen  scattered  houses  and  trees.' 
Driving  up  the  hill,  they  passed  a  pile  of  stone. 

'What  are  these  stones  for?'  he  asked  his  companion. 

'For  a  school  house,'  replied  the  man. 

'A  school  house?  But  where  are  the  children  coining  from?'  asked 
my  father. 

'Oh,  Mr.  Robbins  is  going  to  build  a  town  here,'  said  the  man." 

A  town  in  the  making  was  a  new  experience  for  the  young  man  just 
from  the  well  established  towns  and  villages  of  New  England. 

"A  few  months  later  father  was  asked  to  commence  holding  re- 
ligious services  Sunday  afternoons  at  Hinsdale.  No  place  for  such  serv- 
ices was  available  other  than  the  Railroad  Station,  now  used  as  the 
freight  depot.  The  agent's  family  lived  in  the  station— his  wife  had  a 
piano  and  could  play  it;  so  with  the  help  of  the  Lyonsville  choir  they 
had  good  music  from  the  first.  Boards  laid  across  drygoods  boxes 
supplemented  the  seating  capacity  of  the  room.  Often,  late  comers 
had  to  stand  outside  by  the  open  windows." 

Others  were  investigating  and  investing  in  this  promising  new 
locality,  and  with  its  future  so  bright,  it  seemed  quite  in  order  to  plot 
a  village,  with  streets  and  boundaries.  The  building  of  a  village  on  such 
a  rapid  schedule,  from  the  ground  up,  probably  called  for  solemn  mo- 
ments of  decision  even  for  these  ardent  emissaries  of  progress,  and  the 


COMING   OF   THE  RAILROAD  81 

exact  boundaries  of  ''the  village"  was  one  of  the  points  to  be  decided. 
Unlike  other  towns,  that  had  some  particular  or  natural  cause  for 
starting  where  they  did,  Hinsdale's  center  and  original  boundaries 
were  largely  subject  to  human  decision. 

The  railroad  station  had  been  placed  on  the  north  side  of  the  track, 
about  300  yards  west  of  the  crossing  of  Mr.  Robbins'  "Main"  Street. 
The  reason  for  locating  it  beyond  Main  Street,  where  there  was  no 
other  street,  is  not  certain,  but  it  seems  a  logical  place  to  have  built  it, 
with  so  many  rolling,  beckoning  hills  to  the  west  and  with  no  good 
reason  for  clustering  the  town  too  close  to  the  swamp  adjacent  to  the 
highlands.  A  town  must  have  a  business  section,  and  the  stores  must 
be  near  the  railroad  station,  so  the  original  village  was  laid  out,  in  1 865, 
around  the  depot,  bounded  on  the  north  by  Chicago  Ave.,  the  south 
by  Fifth  Street,  and  between  Garfield  and  Grant,  east  and  west.  Within 
this  area  streets  were  laid  out,  and  given  names:  Washington,  Lincoln, 
and  Grant,  for  that  new  General  who  had  accomplished  so  much  in 
the  war.  Chicago  Avenue  was  not  so  named  then,  but  the  numbered 
streets,  to  and  including  Fifth,  came  into  being.  The  streets  actually 
plowed  and  graded  at  this  time  were  Washington,  Garfield,  and  Sixth 
Street  as  far  as  the  County  Line.  Originally,  Sixth  was  a  double-laned 
street  with  a  parkway  in  the  middle.  When  the  street  was  paved  it  was 
made  a  single  drive.  A  mowing  machine  was  run  over  all  the  streets  in 
the  summer  time,  before  they  were  paved.  In  that  year,  1865,  village 
government  was  a  long  way  off,  but  the  original  boundaries,  which 
designated  the  village  proper,  were  defined.  Thus  the  village  had  its 
start,  mostly  south  of  the  railroad,  but  other  tracts  of  land  or  "subdi- 
visions," north  and  west,  were  in  the  making. 

Chronologically,  Oliver  J.  Stough  was  not  the  next  purchaser  and 
developer  of  suburban  lands  to  begin  his  work  here,  but  following 
Robbins  his  operations  were  the  most  extensive,  and  represent  the 
second  important  result  of  the  arrival  of  the  railroad.  Starting  in  the 
year  1866  with  acquisition  of  the  Jarvis  Fox  farm,  he  gradually  came 
into  possession,  piece  by  piece,  of  over  1,000  acres  north  and  northwest 
of  the  platted  village.  His  lands  reached  to  the  southern  outskirts  of 
Fullersburg  and  it  was  not  long  before  Stough's  first  and  second  ad- 
ditions to  Hinsdale  were  entered  in  the  record  books.  Mr.  Stough,  like 
Mr.  Robbins,  planted  many  trees  and  made  other  improvements.  He 
built  his  dwelling  on  the  tract  bounded  by  Lincoln,  Vine,  Maple,  and 


82  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Walnut.  This  was  a  large  lot,  but  his  dwelling  was  a  comparatively 
small  one.  He  too  envisioned  the  community's  future,  and  did  much 
toward  its  realization. 

Other  early  purchasers  of  large  blocks  of  land,  some  of  whom  were 
builders  as  well,  were  D.  S.  Estabrook,  J.  M.  Walker,  H.  C.  Middaugh, 
J.  H.  Hannah,  J.  I.  Case,  Marvin  Hughitt,  W.  S.  and  E.  Banker,  A.  T. 
Hall,  David  Roth,  Robert  Harris,  Azel  Dorathy,  J.  Blanchard,  Reuben 
Farr,  C.  B.  Holmes,  and  A.  N.  Towne. 

During  the  1860's  and  70's  a  weekly  paper,  the  Land  Owner,  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  real  estate  development,  was  published  in  Chi- 
cago, and  one  of  its  issues,  in  the  year  1 869,  carried  a  description  of  the 
development  at  Hinsdale,  including  the  chart  reproduced  on  the  back 
end  sheet.  Note  the  extent  to  which  the  village  had  been  mapped 
out  by  that  year,  "on  paper"  of  course,  but  indicative  of  the  foresight 
of  the  early  settlers.  Hinsdale's  population  was  less  than  500  in  1869, 
but  in  keeping  with  the  growth  that  was  anticipated,  the  boundaries, 
from  Ayres  Avenue  to  10th  Street  and  from  Jackson  to  the  County 
Line,  were  laid  out  to  encompass  an  area  of  1 1/2  square  miles,  within 
which  were  175  residential  blocks.  At  that  time  this  was  planning  on 
a  grand  scale. 

Note  the  ponds  between  Elm  and  the  County  Line,  north  and  south 
of  Third  Street,  the  "Academy,"  (Mr.  Robbins'  stone  school  house)  at 
Main  and  Third,  the  railroad  station  between  Washington  and  Lin- 
coln, with  a  passing  track  and  a  freight  siding.  The  area  of  Mr.  Stough's 
estate  can  be  seen  on  north  Grant  Street.  Note  the  absence  of  trees, 
except  along  the  belt  of  woods  that  cuts  diagonally  across  the  County 
Line,  and  small  patches  elsewhere.  The  trees  or  shrubs  bordering  the 
Robbins  estate  evidently  were  planted.  Allowance  must  be  made  for 
errors  in  this  map,  which  was  drawn  for  the  purpose  of  land  sale  pro- 
motion rather  than  historical  reference.  Incidentally,  the  Land  Owner 
refers  to  it  as  a  "cartoon,"  a  term  used  generally  in  that  day  meaning 
a  "diagram." 

A  written  description  of  the  village,  which  accompanied  this  chart, 
is  quoted  here  in  full: 

"Hinsdale  is  situated  17  miles  from  Chicago,  on  the  Chicago,  Burlington 
and  Quincy  railroad.  The  land  is  elevated,  and  the  situation  is  unsurpassed  in 
the  west.  In  the  short  space  of  four  years  it  has  risen  from  a  single  dwelling 
house,  to  a  place  of  nearly  1000  inhabitants.  The  station  house  is  about   16 


COMING   OF   THE  RAILROAD  83 

miles  from  the  Central  Depot,  or  forty-five  to  sixty  minute's  ride  from  the  city 
by  any  one  of  the  eight  or  nine  trains  that  stop  there.  The  distance  by  driveway 
is  about  the  same,  and  will  be  rendered  shorter  yet  by  a  proposed  connection 
with  the  Riverside  boulevard." 

"The  scene  which  Hinsdale  now  presents  has  a  more  natural  beauty  than 
can  be  found  at  any  of  our  nearer  suburbs,  as  the  land  is  150  feet  above  the 
surface  of  the  lake  and  is  delving  and  almost  hilly,  there  being  a  constant  rise 
and  decline,  the  picturesque  effects  of  which  can  be  well  appreciated  by  all 
who  have  been  accustomed  to  blank  outlooks  upon  sandy  deserts.  The  soil  is 
of  a  richer  clay  than  most  prairie  land,  and  without  the  sub-stratum  of  sand 
which  is  found  nearer  the  lake.  This  renders  the  roads  the  ideal  of  country 
roads,— soft  without  being  muddy,  shedding  the  water  by  reason  of  their  incli- 
nation, partly  grass  grown,  and  wending  their  way  up  and  down  and  around 
their  gentle  slopes.  On  this  account  Hinsdale  has  natural  advantages,  the  attain- 
ment of  which  by  means  of  art  would  require  immense  expenditures  of  money 
and  time. 

"The  richness  of  the  soil  is  abundantly  attested  by  the  splendid  groves  at  one 
end  of  the  tract,  covered  with  superb  trees  of  oak  and  maple.  But  proofs  of  this, 
and  strong  ones,  are  found  in  the  success  of  the  fruits  of  all  kinds,— pears, 
peaches,  plums,  grapes,  etc.  The  character  of  the  country  to  the  south  is  such  as  to 
afford  the  finest  drives.  Along  the  Aux  Plaines  River  the  great  timber  gives  the 
effect  of  mountainous  scenery.  Salt  Creek,  a  fine  stream  with  good  fishing,  runs 
near  Hinsdale  on  the  north,  and  there  is  abundance  of  water  easily  attainable 
with  wells  of  from  20  to  25  feet  depth  at  the  highest  point. 

"But  the  value  and  desirability  of  suburban  villages,  for  residential  purposes, 
is  not  fully  determined  by  all  the  above  features.  It  is  still  the  school  house  and 
the  church  that  give  tone  and  character.  In  this  respect  Hinsdale  stands  fore- 
most. The  academy  located  there,  under  the  superintendence  of  Professor  Glea- 
son,  an  educator  long  and  favorably  known  in  Chicago,  is  one  of  the  best  in  the 
country.  Its  advantages  are  second  to  none.  Socially,  Hinsdale  is  one  of  the 
pleasantest  residence  towns  around  Chicago.  The  social  recherche,  and  a  tone  of 
refinement  seems  to  pervade  the  place.  There  is  not  a  grog-shop  in  the  village, 
the  charter  especially  prohibiting  such  unpleasant  features. 

"Among  the  residents  of  Hinsdale  are  many  of  our  best  business  men,  whose 
ample  means  enable  them  to  retire  in  a  few  minutes'  time  from  the  noisy  city 
to  the  quiet  of  their  country  homes.  Among  them  are  Mr.  A.  T.  Hall,  Mr.  J.  M. 
Walker,  Mr.  Robert  Harris,  Mr.  Samuel  Powell,  and  Mr.  W.  McCredie.  Mr.  O.  J. 
Stough,  who  has  very  large  interests  here,  and  Mr.  William  Robbins,  also  one  of 
the  large  landowners,  have  fine  residences;  as  have  also  Mr.  W.  S.  Banker,  Mr. 
Charles  B.  Holmes,  Mr.  Jerry  Nottingham,  Mr.  H.  R.  Thompson  of  the  John 
Hancock  Life  Insurance  Company,  Mr.  N.  H  Warren,  Mr.  J.  Blanchard,  Mr.  J. 
Parker,  Mr.  Reuben  Farr,  Mr.  W.  Leland,  Dr.  F.  H.  Walker,  Gen.  Briggs,  Mr. 
M.  A.  Donohue,  Mr.  D.  S.  Estabrook,  the  Messrs.  J.  P.  and  E.  P.  Hinds,  and 
many  other  prominent  individuals.  J.  I.  Case,  Esq.  the  Racine  manufacturer,  is 
making  arrangements  for  the  construction  of  a  fine  villa. 

"Trains  run  to  and  from  Hinsdale  almost  every  hour  of  the  day;  and  it  has 
the  special  advantage  of  two  Hinsdale  accommodation  trains  to  meet  the  wants 
of  every  class  of  business  men." 


84 


VILLAGE   ON   THE  COUNTY  LINE 


The  old  Baptist  Church  stood  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  First  and  Garfield. 


This  description  requires  deflation  in  a  few  particulars.  The  popu- 
lation was  close  to  400  in  this  year,  instead  of  1,000,  there  were  only 
six  daily  trains  to  the  city,  and  Mr.  Case  did  not  build  his  villa.  Never- 
theless, it  is  full  of  the  enthusiasm,  hope,  and  promise  that  pervaded 
the  local  thinking  and  planning  of  the  day. 

Among  the  permanent  organizations  that  have  been  formed  in 
Hinsdale,  the  Congregational  Church  was  the  first.  Other  "firsts"  of 
the  village  were:  the  first  general  store,  conducted  by  Mr.  L.  E. 
Moreley,  with  William  Evernden  as  its  first  clerk;  the  first  baggage  de- 
livery service,  operated  by  Eben  Millions  who  had  sailed  on  American 
clipper  ships  before  settling  here;  and  his  daughter,  Fannie  Millions, 
the  first  dressmaker.  There  was  Tommy  Using,  whose  horse  and  phae- 
ton constituted  the  first  livery  service.  Over  Evernden 's  drug  store,  the 
first  instruction  in  dancing  was  given  by  Mr.  C.  P.  Frey,  who  taught 
dancing  and  played  the  fiddle  at  the  same  time.  The  first  drug  store 
had  as  its  proprietor  Dr.  J.  C.  Merrick,  who  simultaneously  was  the  first 
practicing  physician. 

The  first  club  for  educational  advancement,  of  which  there  were 


COMING   OF   THE  RAILROAD  85 

many  to  follow,  was  called  the  Cultivators,  or  more  exactly,  the  Culti- 
vator's Society.  It  engaged  in  Shakespearean  Plays,  erudite  readings, 
and  social  affairs.  Mrs.  N.  H.  Warren  was  the  leading  spirit.  Mrs.  Belle 
Robbins  Knight,  and  the  Misses  Ella  and  Alice  Warren  were  among 
its  members. 

The  first  church  building,  that  of  the  Baptists  (Page  84)  stood  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Community  House,  facing  north.  This  church 
was  also  known  as  the  "music  hall"  because  of  many  concerts  that  took 
place  there.  After  the  Baptists  relinquished  the  building,  it  sheltered 
dancing  classes,  and  a  few  present-day  citizens  who  were  youngsters 
at  that  time  can  remember  a  troupe  of  Kickapoo  Indians  that  came  to 
Hinsdale  once  each  year  to  sell  patent  medicine,  through  the  customary 
medium  of  a  vaudeville  act.  Their  performance  took  place  in  the  base- 
ment of  this  same  structure.  In  the  early  1890's  it  burned.  A  "flaming 
youth"  of  the  village  was  suspected  of  having  set  fire  to  the  building, 
but  this  was  never  verified. 

News  from  the  county  came  mostly  by  way  of  Chicago.  On  the 
morning  of  June  6,  1867,  The  Chicago  Tribune,  which  was  reaching 
the  village  a  few  hours  after  coming  off  the  press,  carried  a  long  news 
item  entitled  "Excitement  in  Du  Page  County,"  concerning  removal 
of  the  county  seat  from  Naperville  to  Wheaton. 

The  latter  town  had  claimed  the  right  to  serve  as  the  seat  of  justice 
owing  to  its  central  position  in  the  county,  but  this  claim  was  ener- 
getically refuted  by  Naperville,  whose  stand  was  augmented  by  her  age, 
numbers,  and  wealth.  The  State  Legislature  authorized  an  election  in 
the  county  to  settle  the  dispute,  which  was  won  by  Wheaton,  by  a 
small  margin.  The  removal  was  accompanied  by  violence  of  a  minor 
sort,  expressive  of  interest  in  the  seat  of  government  rather  than  an- 
tagonism. 


Mud,  dark  brown  mud,  is  mentioned  frequently  in  all  of  the  accounts 
and  stories  of  this  part  of  the  country  during  the  pre-Cleveland  era. 
For  the  first  ten  or  fifteen  years  Hinsdale's  streets  were  just  as  nature 
made  them,  and  the  sidewalks  too,  except  for  those  stretches  that  some 
public-spirited  person  had  covered  with  boards  or  cinders.  But  most 
of  the  sidewalks  were  merely  footpaths  paralleling  the  carriage  and 
wagon  tracks.  During  wet  spells,  vehicles  often  sank  nearly  to  their 


86  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

hubs.  Pedestrian's  rubbers  would  stick  and  come  off.  Dogs  tracked  the 
stuff  into  homes  and  stores. 

The  streets  must  have  been  subject  to  this  muddy  condition  for  a 
long  time,  because  Otis  R.  Cushing,  well  known  citizen  and  business 
man  says,  "I  recall  that  in  the  late  '90's  Fifth  Street  was  not  paved  and 
there  was  a  mud  hole  in  front  of  our  property.  Dad  used  to  be  out  with 
a  two-by-four  helping  pry  the  carriages  out  of  the  mud  on  Sunday 
afternoons  during  the  wet  seasons." 

The  early  houses  were  mostly  far  apart  and  well  scattered  over  the 
entire  area.  Then,  as  now,  the  houses  were  built  of  frame,  usually  with 
clapboard  siding,  or  of  stone  or  brick.  But  frame  houses  predomi- 
nated, with  inside  chimneys,  cedar  shingles,  and  "caps"  over  the  win- 
dow frames,  the  upper  part  of  the  frame  being  slightly  arched,  in  a  plain 
or  fancy  design.  Many  of  the  early  homes  were  designed  without  benefit 
of  architect.  Nevertheless,  examination  of  the  houses  built  during  the 
'6o's  and  '70's  reveals  more  pleasing  designs  than  some  of  those  which 
went  up  in  the  '8o's  and  'go's.  "Gingerbread"  and  gewgaws  were  con- 
sidered attractive  after  1875,  but  apparently  not  before. 

Water  came  from  wells  and  from  cisterns  that  were  supplied  with 
rain  water  from  the  roof.  Many,  if  not  all,  of  the  older  places  still  have 
these  cisterns  in  the  back  or  side  yards,  though  they  have  long  been 
out  of  use.  They  were  used,  however,  up  until  about  1915,  when  the 
water  softening  plant  was  installed  in  the  village.  Pumps  forced  the 
water  from  the  cistern  to  a  tank  in  the  attic,  from  which  the  various  out- 
lets in  the  house  were  supplied.  Buckets  at  each  home  served  as  fire 
protection.  Coal  oil  lamps  furnished  the  light.  "Coal  oil"  was  a  yellow- 
ish petroleum  product  that  became  known  as  "kerosene"  in  later  years, 
when  refining  processes  were  improved.  Candles  also  were  used,  until 
gas  arrived.  This  modern  improvement,  however,  did  not  wait  for  gas 
mains  and  pipes  from  the  outside.  Some  of  Hinsdale's  residents  in- 
stalled machines  that  manufactured  gas  in  their  basements,  and  rem- 
nants of  those  devices  still  can  be  seen  in  the  basements  of  some  of  the 
older  dwellings.  Whatever  the  kind  of  lighting,  each  house  was 
equipped  with  hand  kerosene  lanterns,  to  be  carried  by  those  who  went 
out  at  night.  Some  of  the  early  homes  had  furnaces  of  a  sort,  but  the 
majority  relied  on  those  barrel-shaped  cast  iron  stoves,  that  now  are 
confined  to  lumber  camps  and  remote  country  stores.  Some  of  these 
stoves  had  bright  nickel  trim. 


COMING   OF   THE  RAILROAD 


87 


FROM       CHICAGO 


Stations 


.Central  Depot. 
Chicago  Station 
.  Cicero 


.  Riverside . . . 

.  West  Lyons . . 

. .  Hinsdale .  . . 

Downer's  Grove 

. .  Lisle 

Naperville  . . 


Aurora. 


Freight, 

No.  13. 

B 


9.45a.m. Lv 
10.10 
10.25 

10.48 

11.05 
11.15 
11.37 
11.53 
12.10 

12.56 


Freight, 

No.  11. 

B 


8.15a.m. Lv 
8.45 


9.08 
9.25 

9.42 
9.53 
10.13 
10.30 
10.48 
11.30 
11.45 


Ar.\ 
Lv./ 


Ar.\ 
Lv./ 


Night 

Express. 

No.  9. 

C 


11.30p.m. Lv 
11.50 

:12.07 

12.22 

12.33 

12.40 

12.55 

fl.06 

1.18 

1.45 


Aurora 

Passenger, 

No.  7. 

B 


5.45p.m.  Lv. 

6.00 

6.16 

6.30 

6.40 
6.46 
7.00 
7.10 
7.20 

7.45p.m.  Ar. 
B. 


Mendota 

Passenger 

B 


4.30p.m.  Lv 

4.45 
k4.58 

5.10 

5.17 
5.28 
5.35 
5.43 
5.53 

6.15 


Quincy 

Passenger, 

No.  3. 

B 


3.00p.m.  Lv 
3.15 
|3.33 

3.49 

3.58 
4.04 
4.14 
4.22 
4.32 

4.55 


Mail, 

No.  1. 

B 


7.30a. m.Lv 
7.45 
=8.00 

8.15 

8.24 
8.30 
8.42 
8.52 
9.02 

9.27 


s 

2  ° 

as  o 


2H 

12H 

15M 

18M 

22y2 

25H 
29K 

38M 


1868  suburban  timetable,  west  bound. 


From  the  beginning,  up  until  1910,  chickens  were  raised,  and 
cows  were  kept  in  back  yards  and  sheds  within  the  village  limits.  Horses 
were  stabled  in  the  village  until  a  later  date. 

Since  its  first  settlement,  there  has  been  a  spirit  of  helpfulness  and 
cooperation  toward  filling  public  needs  in  the  village,  and  one  of  its 
first  manifestations  took  the  form  of  sidewalks.  After  the  original  town 
boundaries  were  set,  and  twenty  or  thirty  families  had  built  homes,  the 
need  of  sidewalks,  especially  in  wet  weather,  became  urgent.  So  one 
day  Mr.  N.  H.  Warren  had  several  loads  of  lumber  shipped  to  Hins- 
dale, and  many  citizens  pitched  in  to  help  build  plank  walks.  They 
were  put  down,  of  course,  along  those  streets  where  they  were  par- 
ticularly needed,  so  mostly  these  boards  were  laid  over  the  approaches 
to  the  business  district.  The  first  board  walks  installed  by  the  village, 
after  incorporation,  ran  from  the  station  to  north  Washington  Street. 

When  the  Hinsdalean  of  the  '6o's  and  '70's  went  to  Chicago,  the  city 
terminal  was  Central  Station,  at  the  foot  of  Randolph  Street.  For  the 
westward  journey  the  train  went  south  from  Central  Station  to  16th 
Street,  where  it  turned  west  and  made  a  stop  a  little  to  the  east  of  State 
Street.  From  there  on  west,  stops  were  made  at  the  following  named 
stations:  Cicero,  Riverside,  West  Lyons,  (now  La  Grange)  and  Hins- 
dale. That  was  all.  There  were  no  Western  Avenue,  Berwyn,  Brook- 
field,  or  other  stops  with  which  we  are  familiar.  West  of  Hinsdale,  the 
stations  were  Downers  Grove,  Lisle,  Naperville,  and  Aurora.  Schedules 


88  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

and  stops  were  more  informal  then,  when  traffic  was  lighter.  On  page 
87  there  is  a  reproduction  of  the  westbound  portion  of  an  1868  time 
table.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  that  year  Hinsdale  was  served  by  through 
trains,  the  specialized  suburban  service  not  yet  having  been  demanded 
by  population  growth,  and  that  freight  and  live  stock  trains,  as  well  as 
passenger  trains,  were  scheduled.  An  average  passenger  train  made  the 
trip  in  65  minutes;  a  fast  mail  in  one  hour  flat.  The  timetable  for  the 
following  year,  1869,  however,  scheduled  two  trains  which  went  no 
farther  west  than  Hinsdale  and  Aurora,  respectively.  The  first  was 
called  the  "Hinsdale  accommodation  train,"  and  those  two  trains  sig- 
nify the  beginning  of  the  regular  suburban  service.  From  then  on, 
trains  of  the  suburban  category  were  added  as  required. 

The  broad  prairie  between  Chicago  and  the  Desplaines  River  still 
was  poorly  drained,  so  that  water  often  came  up  to  the  tracks  after 
heavy  spring  rains.  But  in  summer,  the  Indian  paint  brush  and  other 
wild  flowers  blossomed  on  the  prairie  in  great  profusion.  After  leaving 
Berwyn,  the  train  was  out  in  the  country,  in  more  sparsely  settled  coun- 
try than  that  west  of  Hinsdale  today.  At  present-day  La  Grange,  there 
was  at  first  only  a  platform  for  taking  on  milk  and  other  farm  produce. 

Billy  Cummins  is  remembered  as  "a  most  popular  conductor"  who 
furnished  much  merriment  for  the  commuters.  He  had  a  penchant  for 
adding  large  words  to  his  vocabulary,  and  would  glow  like  a  clear 
morning  whenever  he  acquired  a  new  one. 

At  this  time  commutation  tickets  were  sold  in  the  form  of  books 
of  coupons,  one  coupon  being  removed  by  the  conductor  for  each  trip. 
The  book  was  good  for  one,  two,  or  six  months,  or  a  year. 

A  rapidly  growing  town  needed  roads  leading  to  and  from  it.  The 
making  of  a  road  followed  this  procedure:  first,  those  who  wanted 
it  would  petition  the  county  for  a  survey,  and  the  Commissioner  of 
roads  would  then  call  a  meeting  of  those  persons  and  the  owners  of  land 
through  whose  property  the  proposed  road  would  pass.  If  found  agree- 
able, the  road  was  surveyed.  Then,  in  the  absence  of  further  obstacles, 
but  in  the  presence  of  sufficient  money  in  the  County  Treasury  to  com- 
pensate the  land  owners  and  road  laborers,  the  work  proceeded. 

Actual  construction,  following  the  survey,  consisted  of  plowing, 
scraping,  and  rolling  the  surface,  and  of  filling  in  here  and  there  with 
gravel,  if  that  material  were  available.  The  work  was  crude,  at  best, 
and  did  not  approach  our  present  standards  of  road  building  until  the 


COMING   OF   THE   RAILROAD  89 

macadam  type  of  construction  came  into  use.  Here  in  the  west,  that 
was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  when  state  aid 
in  the  building  of  roads  began.  Oddly  enough,  the  bicycle  gave  impetus 
to  the  state-aid  movement.  Bicycle  clubs  and  "wheel  societies"  de- 
manded better  roads  for  their  long  cycling  tours.  Federal  aid  came 
later,  with  the  automobile. 

In  the  chapter  on  Brush  Hill,  mention  was  made  of  a  proposed  road 
that  would  have  cut  diagonally  across  country  between  there  and  Cass, 
a  road  that  was  surveyed,  but  never  constructed.  Our  present  highway 
No.  83,  however,  was  surveyed  in  1862,  principally  as  a  link  connect- 
ing those  two  places,  and  in  due  course,  it  became  a  road. 

Spring  Road,  extending  from  Fullersburg  to  Roosevelt  Road, 
south  and  west  of  Salt  Creek,  had  been  surveyed  and  laid  out  in  1 840- 
42.  Garfield  Avenue,  then  called  Main  Street,  was  surveyed  south  to 
Plainfield  Road  in  1864.  It  was  then  called  the  William  Glidden  Road 
because  it  cut  through  the  property  of  a  farmer  of  that  name.  There 
are  other  instances  of  new  roads  having  been  named  for  persons 
through  whose  property  they  were  extended.  Northward,  as  a  wagon 
trail  this  street  (Wm  Glidden  Road)  skirted  the  Walker  farm,  then 
on  down  the  hill  to  Fullersburg,  where  it  was  known  as  Cass  Street. 
Now  it  is  York  Road,  from  The  Lane  to  Ogden,  and  beyond. 

Chicago  Avenue,  connecting  Hinsdale  with  Downers  Grove  was 
surveyed  in  1 865-6,  and  County  Line  was  made  into  a  road  during  the 
1860's.  The  extension  of  North  Washington  Street  to  Salt  Creek  was 
surveyed  in  1876,  according  to  the  Surveyor's  book,  but  T.  E.  Clark, 
old  resident  of  Fullersburg,  says  this  was  "only  a  path"  as  late  as  1890. 
Several  roads  were  surveyed,  but  not  immediately  constructed. 

Some  of  the  notes  found  in  the  road  surveyor's  book  are  of  interest, 
such  as  these: 

"Met  on  the  29th  day  of  October  1864  in  the  depot  at  Brush  Hill  to  hear  proofs 
and  allegations  of  the  parties." 

Several  of  these  meetings  are  reported  to  have  taken  place  "in  the 
depot  at  Brush  Hill,"  as  late  as  1867,  which  would  indicate  that  the 
name  "Hinsdale"  was  slow  in  taking  hold  throughout  the  County.  In 
1868  a  meeting  was  held  at  "Hinsdale." 

"Served  notice  on  J.  E.  Oldfield  and  Willie  Walton  to  move  their  fences  out  of 
the  road  adjoining  their  respective  places." 


go  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Bases  of  measurement  used  by  the  early  surveyors  often  were  in- 
formal and  indefinite,  according  to  present-day  standards.  These  are 
examples: 

"Starting  at  the  corner  of  Mr.  Jones'  barn  the  line  runs  to  .  .  .  ." 
"In  line  with  a  red  oak  tree  18"  in  diameter." 

"Established  the  center  of  the  road  by  digging  a  hole  and  putting  several  small 
stones  into  it,  with  a  red  stone  on  top." 

But  such  methods  of  describing  boundaries  were  not  confined  to 
the  road  surveyor's  office.  The  legal  description  of  a  piece  of  property 
at  Second  and  Washington  in  Hinsdale  was  found  to  read  in  part  "— 
and  thence  to  the  Arbor  Vitae  hedge." 

It  would  be  of  interest  to  know  who  the  farmers  were  on  the  land 
immediately  adjacent  to  Hinsdale  in  the  early  1870%  but  there  is  rea- 
son to  believe  that  tillers  of  the  soil  close  to  our  borders  were  few. 
There  were  land  owners,  but  not  many  land  owning  farmers  just  out- 
side the  village  boundaries,  for  much  of  this  territory  was  being  held 
by  investors,  in  anticipation  of  the  inevitable  expansion  of  the  village 
and  a  consequent  rise  in  values.  Some  lived  on  their  tracts,  as  did 
Michael  Sucher  and  H.  Faul,  to  the  northwest  and  William  Bilby, 
J.  D.  Crocker,  and  W.  Leland  on  the  south,  but  even  these  places  were 
either  in  the  nature  of  country  estates,  or  the  lands  were  tilled  by 
tenant  farmers.  Other  nearby  acres  were  just  being  held  for  a  rise  in 
the  market. 


According  to  Mr.  Paul  Richert,  most  of  the  land  on  which  Clarendon 
Hills  is  located,  was  purchased  from  the  Government  by  John  J. 
Monell,  during  the  early  1830's.  In  all,  he  acquired  960  acres.  In  1836 
Monell  sold  one-third  of  his  holdings  to  Alfred  A.  Belknap.  Title  to 
Belknap's  land  then  passed  to  Abraham  M.  Smith,  and  finally  back  to 
Monell,  who  then  sold  to  M.  P.  Bush,  George  Howard,  and  others.  In 
1867  Bush  and  Howard  transferred  a  large  tract  south  of  the  railroad 
to  James  M.  Walker.  Then  came  Henry  P.  Churchill,  Charles  B. 
Holmes,  O.  J.  Stough,  Amos  T.  Hall,  S.  B.  Sherer,  Robert  Harris, 
Dirkus  Snitjer,  and  Henry  C.  Middaugh,  all  of  whom  bought  large 
tracts  in  the  area. 


COMING   OF   THE  RAILROAD  91 

Clarendon  Hills  was  officially  recorded  as  a  town  in  November, 
1873.  Before  that,  it  was  known  as  a  part  of  West  Hinsdale. 

Present-day  Hinsdaleans  remember  H.  C.  Middaugh  as  the  prin- 
cipal owner  of  Clarendon  Hills  property  north  of  the  railroad.  Mr. 
Middaugh  moved  here  from  Cook  County,  became  DuPage's  School 
Director  and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors.  His  Clarendon 
property  was  used  entirely  as  a  farm  until  1891,  when  he  vacated  that 
area  between  the  railroad  and  Chicago  Avenue,  which  has  become  the 
north  side  of  the  village,  with  many  streets  and  homes.  But,  for  a 
while  thereafter,  he  continued  to  farm  eighty  acres  of  land  north  of 
Chicago  Avenue,  while  residing  in  his  large  brick  dwelling  that  still 
stands  a  few  hundred  yards  west  of  Highway  83,  a  little  south  of 
Chicago  Avenue.  But  the  80  acre  remnant  of  the  Middaugh  farm  soon 
became  a  part  of  the  course  of  the  first  Hinsdale  Golf  Club. 

The  organizers  of  that  club  rented  land  for  the  course  from  Mr. 
Middaugh  for  a  stipulated  period,  during  which  time  the  property, 
under  the  club's  supervision,  was  considerably  improved.  When  time 
came  for  renewal  of  the  lease  or  purchase  of  the  land  by  the  club,  the 
price  asked  was  considered  too  high,  so  the  club  decided  to  move 
farther  west.  The  course  now  is  located  on  land  owned  by  the  F.  O. 
Butler  estate. 

A  news  despatch  of  1 874  tells  of  a  widely  attended  wedding  at  the 
home  of  Mr.  W.  W.  Welch  in  that  year.  Among  other  early  residents 
was  Albert  G.  Hines  who  arrived  from  Philadelphia  in  1880.  His 
dwelling,  just  south  of  the  present  business  district  is  a  familiar  land 
mark.  Mr.  T.  A.  Lemmon  came  from  Chicago  in  1882,  and  built  a 
house.  Later,  the  Michael  Straus  family,  well  known  to  many  Hins- 
daleans, lived  in  the  large  frame  semi-farm  house  on  the  high  ground 
just  east  of  Clarendon  Hill's  south  side.  It  burned  in  1924. 

The  first  railroad  station  was  erected  in  1865,  on  the  north  side 
of  the  tracks,  at  about  the  point  where  Prospect  Avenue  now  crosses. 
Following  its  destruction  by  fire,  a  second  depot  was  built  south  of 
the  rails  and  a  little  west  of  the  first  location.  After  this  second  build- 
ing burned,  the  present  station  was  constructed.  As  in  Hinsdale,  the 
early  stations  served  various  civic  purposes  as  well  as  housing  the 
patrons  and  local  business  activities  of  the  railroad.  From  1 877  to  1 886 
Mrs.  John  Butler  was  station  agent  and  postmistress  at  Clarendon 
Hills. 


92  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

The  first  store,  a  brick  building,  was  located  on  the  east  side  of 
Prospect  Avenue,  south  of  the  present  station.  This  was  an  old-time 
general  store.  It  burned  in  1892.  The  oldest  business  building  at  pres- 
ent is  the  store  that  was  erected  by  Edward  Mochel  in  1911.  The  Post- 
office  was  then  moved  to  the  Mochel  building.  The  village  pump, 
which  served  faithfully  up  until  1928,  was  likewise  on  Prospect 
Avenue,  on  the  east  side,  a  few  yards  south  of  the  tracks. 

Clarendon  Hills  developed  slowly  during  its  first  fifty  years.  As 
late  as  1922  there  were  only  thirty-five  dwellings  on  the  south  side,  and 
a  smaller  number  to  the  north.  In  sharp  contrast  to  that  condition  of 
affairs,  new  homes  are  now  being  built  on  a  large  scale;  in  fact  real 
estate  activity  has  been  noticeable  since  the  mid  1930's. 

#        #        # 

From  the  start,  no  period  of  languor  was  experienced  in  Hinsdale 
except  for  the  area  west  of  Vine  Street.  West  Hinsdale,  the  same  as 
Clarendon  Hills,  was  slow  to  develop.  But  with  roads  being  added, 
often  two  at  a  time;  with  the  population  approaching  a  thousand;  with 
the  sound  of  carpenter's  saw  and  hammer  being  heard  in  every  quarter, 
new  faces  appearing  daily  on  the  streets,  new  religious  and  other  groups 
being  organized,  and  a  business  section  taking  form,  Hinsdale  passed 
from  its  infant  stage.  The  effects  of  the  railroad  had  been  far-reaching, 
and  this  was  only  the  beginning. 


chapter  vii  The  Elegant  Era 


A  SECOND  TRACK  was  added  to  the  railroad  in  1872,  and  this 
was  a  sign  of  the  times.  Despite  an  impending  National  business 
depression,  new  people  continued  to  arrive,  and  in  the  following  year 
the  Village  of  Hinsdale  was  incorporated. 

The  petition  to  incorporate,  couched  in  the  dry  legal  verbiage  and 
quaint  expressions  of  that  era,  but  revered  in  local  sentiment,  was 
placed  before  the  court  at  Wheaton  in  the  month  of  March  1873.  A 
transcript  of  portions  of  that  document  as  it  was  presented  before 
M.  C.  Dudley,  County  Judge,  follows: 

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

State  of  Illinois 

Du  Page  County,  s  s 

In  County  Court,  In  Probate 

March  Term,  A.D.  1873 

To  His  Honor  the  County  Judge  of  Du  Page  County: 

Your  petitioners  humbly  praying  represent  unto  your  honor  that 
they  are  legal  voters  and  resident  within  the  following  prescribed  limits. 
That  there  are  within  said  prescribed  limits  Five  Hundred  in- 
habitants   That   your   petitioners   desire   the   inhabitants  of 

said  territory  incorporated  under  the  General  Laws  of  this  State  into  a 
Village  corporation  under  the  name  and  style  of  Hinsdale. 

Therefore  your  petitioners  humbly  pray  that  you  will  cause  the 
question  to  be  submitted  to  the  legal  voters  of  said  territory,  whether 
they  will  be  incorporated  into  a  Village  corporation  ....  or  not. 

The  petition  was  dated  August  1,  1872  and  it  was  signed  by  37 
citizens  of  the  Village.  See  Page  189  for  this  list. 

An  election  to  vote  on  the  question  of  incorporation  was  held  in 
the  railroad  station  in  Hinsdale  on  March  29,  1873.  Sixty-two  votes 
were  cast,  60  for  incorporation,  2  against. 

Organization  of  the  village  government  was  soon  to  follow,  so  vil- 
lage officials  were  elected:  President,  Joel  Tiffany;  Clerk,  N.  H.  War- 
ren; Trustees,  E.  P.  Hinds,  Winsor  Leland,  William  Robbins,  George 
Wells  and  W.  W.  Wood.  Police  Magistrate,  Isaac  Q.  Hinds.  No  other 

93 


94 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


Joel  Tiffany,  first  president  of  the  village,  built  this  house  in  the  1860's 
on  the  southeast  corner  of  Washington  and  Walnut. 


Front  hallway  of  the  Joel  Tiffany  home. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  95 

offices  existed  in  the  beginning,  but  a  "Chief  of  Police"  soon  was  to 
be  employed. 

The  village  had  passed  from  the  prospecting,  surveying,  and  platt- 
ing stage.  As  an  organized,  growing  community  it  was  crossing  the 
threshold  of  a  new  period  in  American  history,  a  period  of  crinoline 
and  lace.  Here,  that  era  was  exemplified  in  the  suburban  estate,  with 
its  broad  acres  and  verandas;  its  cupola,  spacious  barn,  sleighs,  surreys, 
and  side-saddles;  a  period  of  finery,  furbelows  and  social  niceties;  of 
piano  recitals,  archery,  and  readings;  of  costume  balls,  calling  cards, 
and  gas-light.  There  were  few  main  events  or  turning  points  in  the 
town's  progress  during  the  twenty-five  years  following  incorporation, 
but  may  fine  homes  were  built,  municipal  improvements  got  under 
way,  and  Hinsdale  began  to  take  its  rightful  place  in  Chicago's  front 
yard. 

Living  old-timers  are  not  old  enough  for  their  memories  to  encom- 
pass much  of  that  era,  but  the  Library,  and  a  few  residents,  possess 
notes  and  memoranda  of  those  who  have  passed  on.  Also,  the  Chicago 
newspapers  of  that  period  printed  news  of  the  suburbs  that  was  sub- 
mitted by  reporters,  some  of  whom  lived  in  the  various  suburban  com- 
munities. The  identities  of  the  reporters  for  Hinsdale  have  not  been 
established,  but  their  dispatches,  exactly  as  they  wrote  them,  are  avail- 
able. 

As  quotations  are  used  they  will  not  be  encumbered  by  reference 
in  each  instance  to  the  source  of  the  information,  but  it  is  considered 
advisable  to  indicate  the  years  to  which  the  items  refer,  so  they  can  be 
followed  in  chronological  order. 


1873  t0  l875 

The  railroad  station  could  not  be  used  indefinitely  as  a  town  meeting 
place,  so  in  1872  Mr.  Stough  built  a  hall.  For  more  than  two  decades 
Stough's  hall  was  to  serve  as  the  place  for  social  functions  and  civic 
assembly.  It  also  was  used  as  a  private  school  by  Mr.  Gleason.  Follow- 
ing its  purchase  by  Mr.  Henry  A.  Gardner  it  became  known  as  Gard- 
ner's Hall.  The  building  is  still  standing  and  is  now  the  Baptist 
Church,  at  Eleven  North  Lincoln  Street. 

It  was  in  this  building  that  the  annual  masquerade  ball  was  inau- 


96  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

gurated,  this  being  the  principal  social  event  of  early  Hinsdale.  The 
following  item  concerning  the  ball  appears  in  a  newspaper  dated 
February  3,  1873: 

"A  masquerade  ball  is  to  be  given  at  Hinsdale  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O.  J.  Stough 
next  Wednesday  evening.  A  train  will  leave  at  Central  Depot  at  7  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  stopping  at  State  and  Canal  Streets,  and  returning,  leave  Hinsdale 
at  2  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  cards  of  invitation  will  pass  gentlemen  and 
ladies  upon  the  train  both  ways." 

Special  trains  from  the  city  for  local  social  events  were  customary 
until  about  1 890.  Can  we  not  picture  the  train,  or  a  few  special  cars, 
waiting  on  the  siding  at  about  1 150  a.m.  for  those  night  owls  to  finish 
their  dance.  In  the  70's  and  8o's  many  of  those  who  attended  Hinsdale 
functions  lived  in  Chicago. 

In  the  following  year  the  reporter  gives  us  a  view  of  the  ballroom 
floor  at  the  annual  masquerade: 

"The  masquerade  party  at  Stough's  Hall  Friday  evening was  participated 

in  by  about  200  persons Many  of  the  characters  were  very  striking,  and 

some  of  the  costumes  costly  and  beautiful  in  the  extreme.  Particularly  notice- 
able among  the  characters  represented  were  the  'Indian  Chief  and  Queen'  finely 
personated  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tiffany,  who  were  decked  in  the  gewgaws  and  paint 
of  the  savages.  'Friars'  by  John  Robbins  and  Mr.  Parks,  was  represented  true  to 
life.  'The  Mexican  Chieftain'  by  Mr.  Shewell,  'Brother  Jonathan'  by  John  C. 
Slocum  was  a  comical  affair,  while  the  'Spanish  Courtier'  by  James  W.  Ford 
was  presented  in  very  rich  dress 'Fancies,  Fairies,  and  Nymphs'  were  ele- 
gantly shown  by  a  large  number  of  charming  ladies " 

This  annual  ball  continued  for  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  during 
which  time  the  costumes  never  gave  way  to  formal  evening  attire. 

Church  concerts,  lectures,  and  receptions  were  frequent  during 
these  years.  The  churches  were  raising  money  by  these  means,  as  well 
as  gaining  new  adherents.  Note  also  how  the  churches  helped  one  an- 
other during  that  period  of  struggle  to  become  established: 

"The  people  of  Hinsdale  were  highly  entertained  last  evening  by  the  vocal  and 
instrumental  concert  given  at  the  Baptist  Church  for  the  benefit  of  the  forth- 
coming Episcopal  Church " 

and  on  another  occasion: 

"The  Baptists,  having  been  assisted  by  the  members  of  the  Liberal  Church  in 
their  concerts  during  the  past  week,  a  concert  will  be  given  under  the  direction 
of  Mrs.  Tirrell  at  the  Baptist  Church  tomorrow  evening  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Liberal  Church." 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  97 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  this  spirit  of  helpfulness  that  per- 
meated the  town,  especially  during  its  first  thirty  years.  It  was  evident 
in  the  churches,  the  schools,  in  the  acquirement  of  municipal  facilities, 
and  in  the  every-day  relationship  between  one  villager  and  another. 
The  people  were  well  acquainted,  as  they  are  in  most  small  commu- 
nities, and  if  Bill  Jones  wanted  to  borrow  Tom  Smith's  wheelbarrow, 
or  a  bushel  of  oats  it  was  hardly  necessary  to  ask  permission.  Nor  was 
this  friendly  spirit  ever  altered  or  conditioned  by  relative  means  or 
social  distinction. 

Shortly  after  the  Chicago  fire,  Mr.  Alanson  Reed,  and  his  son  John 
W.  Reed  (Reed's  Temple  of  Music),  whose  property  had  been  de- 
stroyed in  that  disaster,  bought  most  of  the  land  which  comprises  the 
north  side  of  the  Highlands.  The  H.  L.  Storey  family  (Storey  &  Clark, 
pianos),  had  erected  a  large  house  immediately  to  the  south  of  the 
railroad.  The  Burlington  could  not  build  a  station  to  serve  only  three 
families,  but  agreed  to  stop  its  trains  there,  on  signal.  The  Reed's 
built  the  station,  and  it  still  stands  as  originally  constructed  during 
the  1870's. 

Depression  came  in  1874,  and  we  learn  that: 

"O.  J.  Stough,  who  sold  his  real  estate  interests  here  early  last  fall,  and  is  now 
boarding  at  the  Sherman  House  in  Chicago,  having  faith  in  this  town,  has  re- 
purchased his  residence  property  and  a  large  quantity  of  land  between  Claren- 
don Hills  and  Hinsdale,  which  will  occupy  his  attention for  some  time 

in  the  future." 

The  school  building  at  Clarendon  Hills  was  reported  to  be  in  use 
in  1874,  and  the  West  Hinsdale  station  was  erected  in  the  same  year. 

Independence  Day  undoubtedly  was  celebrated  in  Hinsdale  in 
some  manner  even  during  the  formative  years  of  the  6o's,  but  perhaps 
the  earliest  record  of  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  is  this  one  that  ap- 
peared in  a  Chicago  paper  of  July  7,  1874: 


" The  citizens  of  this  town  assembled  in  procession  near  the  depot 

on  the  morning  of  the  Fourth,  and  marched  to  Walker's  Grove,  where  the  Hon. 
Joel  Tiffany  and  Rev.  P.  Cossitt  entertained  the  assemblage  with  eloquent 
addresses  on  the  prospects  of  the  nation  and  the  duties  of  the  hour.  The  intel- 
lectual feast  was  agreeably  interspersed  with  stirring  music  from  the  Hinsdale 
band,  and  a  game  of  baseball  played  between  the  young  men  of  Brush  Hill 
and  Hinsdale,  in  which  the  Brush  Hill  boys  got  beaten." 


98  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Yes,  they  did  it  differently  in  those  days,  for  in  the  following  year: 

"The  inhabitants  of  this  place  were  aroused  yesterday  morning  at  5  o'clock  by 
the  firing  of  cannon,  which  continued  until  nine." 

There  is  no  record  of  the  number  of  years  Walker's  Grove  (at  the 
north  end  of  Elm  Street)  was  the  scene  of  the  Fourth  celebrations. 
The  next  location  was  the  west  half  of  the  Memorial  Building  site. 
Around  1910  the  celebrations  were  held  in  the  area  south  of  Seventh 
Street,  between  Washington  and  Lincoln,  next  at  Burns  field  on  the 
north  side,  and  finally  at  the  Madison  School  area,  the  present  site  of 
the  games,  amusement  booths,  and  fireworks. 

It  was  about  the  year  1874  also  that  plans  for  a  municipal  water 
supply  were  taking  form: 

"Negotiations  are  now  in  progress  for  sinking  an  artesian  well  here  which  will 
give  rapid  running  water  through  the  town " 

But  such  practical  considerations  cannot  swerve  our  attention  from 
the  social  side  for  long;  and  what  an  event  this  must  have  been: 

"A  veritable  calico  hop  is  coming  off  this  week,  at  which  nothing  but  calico  will 
be  admitted  either  on  ladies  or  gentlemen.  At  all  events,  some  very  original  and 
recherche  costumes  are  being  constructed  for  the  occasion  by  the  gallant  sex. 
Vive  la  calico." 

In  1875  there  appears  the  first  mention  of  a  "Hinsdale  Club." 
Could  this  have  been  a  forerunner  of  the  organization  that  was  des- 
tined to  play  such  an  important  part  in  village  life  later  on? 

"The  long  looked  for  masquerade  took  place  last  evening  at  Stough's  Hall, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Hinsdale  Club." 

Apparently  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stough  had  relinquished  their  sponsor- 
ship of  this  event  to  another  group,  but  the  Hinsdale  Club  known  to 
the  present  generation  was  not  formally  incorporated  until  1889. 

Things  were  happening  on  the  other  side  of  the  county  line,  and 
our  neighbors  in  Western  Springs  also  were  enjoying  the  abundant 
life: 

"So  confident  are  the  owners  of  the  springs  here  of  their  medicinal  virtues  that 
arrangements  have  been  made  for  a  free  supply  of  their  waters  to  the  people  of 
Chicago.  To  that  end  a  barrel  has  been  placed  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Clark 
and  Washington  Streets  (in  the  city)  which  will  be  kept  filled  for  the  benefit 
of  the  afflicted. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  99 

"With  the  recently  awakened  interest  in  the  subject  of  mineral  springs 
throughout  the  country,  it  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  the  mineral  springs 
of  this  locality,  from  which  the  town  is  named,  are  achieving  considerable 

reputation as  shown  in  the  fact  that  there  are  at  present  from  six  to  eight 

barrels  of  water  per  day  shipped  to  various  parts  of  the  country " 

Here  is  another  indication  of  the  gradual  lowering  of  the  water 
table  of  this  area.  Today,  none  of  those  springs  are  flowing. 

Returning  to  Hinsdale,  a  tragic  accident  takes  the  life  of  a  well 
known  citizen: 

"Mr.  F.  W.  Shewell  of  this  place  was  very  severely  injured  yesterday  afternoon 
under  the  following  circumstances:  Desirous  of  having  some  walking  exercise, 
he  left  the  train  at  Riverside  to  walk  along  the  tracks  the  six  miles  between 
the  two  towns,  which  distance  he  had  nearly  made,  when,  hearing  the  whistle  of 
a  train  coming  ahead,  he  stepped  upon  the  other  track  just  as  a  train  was 
approaching  from  the  opposite  direction,  which  the  wind  prevented  him  from 
hearing.  The  result  was  that  the  train  from  behind  struck  him  with  the  cow- 
catcher   " 

Mr.  Shewell  died  a  few  days  later.  Among  other  activities,  Mr. 
Shewell  had  been  associate  editor  of  the  Index,  Hinsdale's  first  news- 
paper. 


1875  to  1880 

Hinsdaleans  always  have  been  travelers  and  this  custom  began  at  an 
early  date,  for  we  note  that  in  1876  Miss  Belle  Robbins  went  on  a  visit 
to  Wisconsin  and  that  when  she  left  there  was  "a  weeping  and  a  wail- 
ing among  the  young  men  here  in  consequence."  Also  that  the  Misses 
Blodgett  and  others  attended  the  Centennial  in  Philadelphia.  The 
Wisconsin  lakes  became  popular,  especially  Geneva  Lake,  as  it  then 
was  called.  In  later  years,  before  Florida  gained  its  reputation,  many 
went  to  Texas,  Mexico,  and  California. 

In  these  days  of  the  telephone  and  television  it  comes  as  an  interest- 
ing surprise  to  learn  that  communication  by  wire  had  been  established 
in  a  few  Hinsdale  homes  twenty  years  before  telephones  came  to  the 
village.  This  1876  news  item  informs  us  that, 

"Hinsdale  has  better  telegraphic  communication  with  the  outside  world  than 
any  other  village  in  America  perhaps.  The  main  line  runs  into  at  least  15 
private  houses,  the  residences  of  railroad  officers  and  others,  who  thus  have 
direct  connection  in  their  homes  with  Chicago." 


ioo  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Presumably,  those  who  had  telegraph  instruments  in  their  homes 
knew  how  to  operate  them.  And  how  intriguing  they  must  have  been 
for  the  youngsters  of  the  household. 

The  Village  Board  was  not  always  punctual  in  its  attention  to  busi- 
ness in  those  years,  for  we  find  statements  such  as  these  in  the  records: 

"The  regular  meeting  was  not  held  last  Monday  evening,"  " 

after  a  good  deal  of  procrastination  it  has  been  decided ,"  and 

"The  regular  meetings  of  the  village  board  have  ceased  lately,  owing  to 
the  severe  weather."  On  one  occasion  the  board  deliberated  at  some 
length  over  "the  case  of  Mr.  Finch's  cow,"  the  particulars  of  which 
case  were  not  revealed  in  the  item  of  news. 

Nevertheless,  the  streets  were  graded  and  ditched  as  the  necessity 
arose,  and  downtown  Washington  street  was  covered  with  gravel  fur- 
nished by  the  railroad.  Stone  bridges  were  set  up  over  Flagg  Creek 
on  Lincoln,  Washington,  and  on  Garfield;  plank  walks  were  author- 
ized in  the  order  of  their  urgency,  and  the  artesian  well  eventually  was 
sunk,  the  first  one  being  a  well  of  the  open  type. 

As  noted  by  Reverend  Saunders  when  he  arrived  here  from  the  East, 
and  by  several  others,  early  Hinsdale  homes  were  not  built  around  a 
central  point;  they  were  well  scattered.  Only  near  the  business  district 
were  they  within  fifty  or  a  hundred  yards  of  one  another.  A  news  item 
of  1876  says,  "The  new  houses  in  West  Hinsdale  are  progressing 
rapidly,  and  will  be  completed  in  a  few  weeks."  There  were  the  ele- 
gant early  dwellings  of  H.  L.  Story  and  the  Reeds  at  the  Highlands,  the 
Ayres  and  Walker  places  on  the  northern  edge  of  town,  and  William 
Robbins  on  the  south,  with  many  newcomers  building  in  between. 

To  protect  the  citizen  in  his  person  and  property,  a  police  "force," 
consisting  of  Constable  Clark,  was  engaged  in  the  year  1877.  Repeated 
thievery  of  horses  was  the  immediate  cause  of  this  move,  but  tramps 
also  were  beginning  to  pass  through,  and  a  news  item  of  that  year  says, 

"Burrows,  the  fellow  who  was  arrested  on  last  Saturday  evening  in  this  city 
(Chicago)  by  Constable  Clark  of  Hinsdale,  suspected  of  being  the  perpetrator 
of  the  recent  burglaries  there,  was  taken  to  the  latter  place  on  yesterday,  and 
locked  up  to  await  examination." 

After  meeting  for  a  few  years  at  the  depot,  the  Village  Board  met  in 
the  assembly  hall  of  the  stone  school  house.  Later  it  convened  over  the 
Fox  Brothers'  Store  at  an  annual  rental  of  $25.00.  Not  until  1886  was 
there  to  be  a  village  hall. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  101 

1880  to  1885 

This  period  opened  with  news  of  hunting  parties,  politics,  and  base- 
ball. An  item  of  1880  says,  "Hinsdale  has  the  satisfaction  of  having 
waxed  Downers  Grove  at  baseball,  7  to  2."  But  three  days  later  it  was 
announced  that  "Hinsdale  is  low  down  in  the  valley  of  humiliation, 
her  baseball  club  having  been  beaten  by  a  scrub  nine  from  Brush 
Hill  in  the  presence  of  a  large  crowd  of  people." 

Turning  from  baseball  to  politics,  the  national  election  of  1880 
revealed  much  partisan  feeling  throughout  the  village,  but  then,  as 
now,  this  ardor  was  mostly  one-sided.  For  we  learn  that: 

"The  Republicans  of  Hinsdale  are  waking  up  and  will  form  a  Garfield  and 
Arthur  club.  A  Hancock  club  is  hardly  probable,  as  not  enough  members  could 
be  drummed  up  to  take  the  offices.  A  pole  90  feet  high  has  been  raised  in  the 
school  house  yard  from  which  a  Garfield  and  Arthur  flag  will  soon  float." 

Judging  from  this  incident,  and  from  the  various  political  rallies 
and  parades  that  took  place  during  the  8o's  and  90's,  Hinsdaleans  in 
those  days  were  more  demonstrative,  if  not  more  decisive,  in  their 
political  convictions.  Soon  after  this  election,  the  street  called  "Main" 
was  changed  to  "Garfield." 

Clubs  and  organizations,  social,  cultural,  and  civic,  had  their  start 
at  an  early  date.  They  have  always  been  numerous,  but  during  this 
period  they  were  of  a  different  character.  The  Cultivator's  Society  was 
previously  mentioned.  There  were  also  The  Equestrians,  The  Archers, 
The  Pleasure  Club,  Seven-Up  Club,  The  Baker's  Dozen,  and  later, 
The  Ace  of  Clubs. 

A  typical  club  of  the  1880's  was  The  Baker's  Dozen.  For  a  picture 
of  this  group  and  some  of  its  "Penny  Rolls"  (the  boys)  see  Page  102. 
Here  are  Lucia  Irish  Van  Inwagen,  Edith  Shannon,  Jimmy  Bush, 
Louie  Tryon  Fee,  Frances  Tiffany,  Jenny  Bowles,  Cora  Bedford,  Eva 
Middleton,  and  others.  Says  one  of  the  club's  former  members: 

"We  helped  at  church  suppers,  and  served  refreshments  at  Miss  Ella  Warren's 
dancing  class  receptions.  When  one  of  our  town  boys  was  going  West  to  make 
his  home  in  Nebraska,  we  searched  the  fields  for  flowers  and  weeds,  making 
huge  bouquets,  and  formed  a  line  from  the  depot  to  half  a  block  down  the 
track.  When  the  Omaha  Express  went  through  and  we  saw  him  on  the  platform 
of  the  observation  car,  we  each  hurled  a  bouquet  at  him,  calling  'goodbye.' 
He,  in  turn  threw  off  a  large  package,  which  was  found  to  be  a  box  of  candy. 
It  being  leap  year,  each  of  us  wrote  him  of  our  good  qualities." 


102 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


The  Baker's  Dozen. 


Sleigh  ride  parties  out  into  the  country  on  winter  nights  were  popu- 
lar. They  usually  ended  with  large  bowls  of  hot  oyster  stew.  Hay-rack 
rides  took  their  place  in  the  summer. 

Invitations  to  social  functions  were  worded  differently  in  those 
days,  as  revealed  in  this  invitation  to  a  dance: 


EDITH,  CARL,  AND  ERNEST  WARRENS 

COMPLIMENTS 

FOR 

FRIDAY  APRIL    17 

stough's  HALL  7  P.M. 


A  new  Union  Station  at  Adams  and  Canal,  in  the  city  was  com- 
pleted, so  the  Burlington  trains  discontinued  using  Central  Station 
on  Randolph  Street.  This  made  the  trip  to  and  from  Chicago  a  little 
shorter. 

The  neighborhood  was  not  free  from  afflictions  during  these  times. 
Several  cases  of  hydrophobia  occurred  in  the  village  in  1882,  and  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  petty  thievery,  this  probably  being  traceable  to  the 
seemingly  endless  procession  of  tramps  seen  here  and  in  other  suburbs. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  103 

The  latter  epidemic  became  so  troublesome  ten  years  later  that  the 
village  established  a  rock  pile  on  the  west  side  near  the  tracks.  There, 
"knights  of  the  road"  who  loitered  too  long  within  the  village  limits 
were  put  to  work. 

Another  affliction  was  the  large  number  of  mishaps  involving 
horses  and  rigs,  of  which  these  are  only  two  isolated  examples: 

"Mrs.  Marie  S.  Robbins,  wife  of  Mr.  William  Robbins,  was  killed  yesterday 
afternoon  by  falling  from  her  carriage." 

"Mrs.  Dodge,  mother  of  Mrs.  J.  Webster,  was  thrown  from  her  carriage  by  a 
runaway  horse  while  driving  near  York  Center." 

"It  is  a  poor  day  when  there  is  not  some  kind  of  a  runaway  accident  in  Hinsdale." 

We  might  conclude  that  the  horse  and  buggy  mishaps  were  almost 
as  numerous  as  those  that  now  involve  automobiles.  The  accidents 
were  frequent  because  the  vehicles  were  many.  Carriages  or  surreys, 
phaetons,  buggies,  buck-boards,  spring-wagons,  sulkies,  and  pony  carts 
were  present  in  large  numbers  in  those  days.  Most  of  the  rigs  were 
owner-driven.  Some  carried  footmen  or  coachmen,  and  many  had 
solid  rubber  tires,  an  improvement  over  the  iron  tires  that  had  been  so 
universally  employed  on  all  horse-drawn  vehicles.  In  muddy  weather 
the  attendant  would  carefully  place  a  wicker  guard  over  the  rim  of  the 
wheel  nearest  the  step  of  the  vehicle  so  the  ladies,  upon  entering  or 
leaving,  would  not  soil  their  dresses. 

The  following  story  from  The  Chicago  Evening  Journal  of  Febru- 
ary 13,  1882,  describes  one  of  the  few  cases,  if  not  the  only  case  of 
mysterious  death  that  has  occurred  in  the  village.  The  killing  was  never 
solved,  and  this  newspaper  account  is  suggestive  of  the  murder  mys- 
teries of  fiction.  The  victim  lived  in  the  house  now  numbered  428  So. 
Lincoln  Street. 

THE  HINSDALE  TRAGEDY 

No  New  Developments  in  Regard  to 
the  Sad  Fate  of  Lake  Ransom 

"The  mystery  attending  the  death  of  Lake  Ransom  at  Hinsdale  is  still  unsettled. 
Some  people  are  inclined  to  lean  toward  the  theory  of  suicide,  but  the  bulk  of 
the  facts  point  toward  the  commission  of  a  murder.  The  general  sentiment  at 
Hinsdale  is  that  Ransom  was  foully  dealt  with.  It  is  not  thought  possible  that 


104  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

the  deceased  could  have  fired  the  shot  with  his  left  hand  and  fallen  where  he 
did.  He  could  not  have  fired  the  shot  while  on  the  ground  as  the  tree  nearby 
would  have  prevented  him  from  using  his  arm.  Mr.  J.  W.  Russell,  a  resident  of 
Hinsdale  was  on  his  way  to  the  6:50  train  to  Chicago,  Saturday  morning,  coming 
down  Washington  Street  toward  the  depot,  from  the  south  side.  When  near 
First  Street  he  saw  Mr.  A.  M.  Weir,  a  resident  of  the  south  side,  coming  toward 
the  depot  on  Lincoln  Street,  between  Second  and  First  Streets.  As  the  train 
was  not  yet  in  sight,  Mr.  Russell  thought  he  would  go  across  First  Street  and 
join  Mr.  Weir  on  Lincoln  Street.  As  he  approached  Lincoln  Street  he  saw  Mr. 
Weir  stop  a  short  distance  south  of  First  Street,  and  as  he  came  on  to  Lincoln 
Street  he  noticed  that  Mr.  Weir  was  looking  at  a  man  near  the  walk.  Mr. 
Russell's  first  thought  was  that  it  was  someone  drunk,  who  had  fallen  off  the 
walk  and  probably  gone  to  sleep.  He  walked  in  that  direction  and  within  about 
seventy-five  feet  of  the  supposed  drunken  man  found  a  hat  on  the  sidewalk. 
This  he  picked  up  and  carried  with  him.  About  half  way  between  the  hat  and 
the  body  he  found  a  bag  of  shot,  which  he  also  picked  up  and  carried  along. 
About  this  time  a  young  man  named  Shannon  joined  Mr.  Weir.  Mr.  Russell 
came  up  near  the  body  and  placed  the  shot  bag  and  hat  where  they  were 
subsequently  found.  Mr.  Shannon's  father  joined  them  about  this  time.  None 
of  them  recognized  the  body,  although  Mr.  Weir  and  Mr.  Russell  were  well 
acquainted  with  the  deceased.  These  parties  were  on  the  ground  but  a  moment, 
as  the  train  was  approaching,  but  they  notified  the  parties  of 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  BODY 

who  next  appeared  on  the  ground,  and  whose  testimony  appeared  in  the 
inquest  begun  yesterday.  These  parties  have  been  summoned  to  appear  today 
before  the  Coroner's  jury. 

"J.  F.  Stuart  of  the  American  Express  office,  of  Chicago,  a  resident  of  Hinsdale, 
says  he  came  out  from  Chicago  Friday  evening  on  the  train  that  arrives  at 
Hinsdale  at  7:20,  and  that  he  saw  Mr.  Ransom  on  the  train.  He  noticed  him 
last  within  at  least  a  half  a  mile  of  Hinsdale  station,  but  did  not  see  him  get  off. 
He  was  well  acquainted  with  Ransom,  and  from  several  incidents  that  occurred 
on  the  way,  is  certain  of  the  train  and  the  day.  This  is  the  only  evidence  yet 
secured  that  anyone  who  knew  Ransom,  saw  him  on  his  way  home  from  Chicago 
Friday  evening. 

"Charles  Hinds,  of  Hinsdale,  while  standing  in  front  of  the  residence  of 
C.  P.  Clark,  on  First  Street,  about  half  past  seven  Friday  evening,  heard  one 
shot  coming  from  the  direction  of  the  place  where  the  body  was  found,  which 
would  be  250  or  300  feet  away.  He  heard  nothing  more. 

"A  member  of  the  Call  Board  stated  last  night  that  Ransom  lost  $50,000  by 
speculation  during  the  past  four  years.  The  Coroner  impaneled  a  jury  Saturday, 
but  the  inquest  was  postponed  until  this  afternoon  (Monday)  .  Detectives 
Wiley  and  Elliott  of  this  city  have  worked  hard  on  the  case  for  the  past  two 
days,  but  nothing  definite  was  discovered  by  them  Saturday  or  Sunday.  Some 
tramps  who  were  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Hinsdale  have  been  placed  under 
arrest. 

"There  are  no  new  particulars  this  morning.  Detectives  Wiley  and  Elliott 
left  on  an  early  train  for  Hinsdale,  and  resumed  their  investigation." 


■0WS*  *  Mtj§ 


106  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Even  today,  among  those  who  were  living  here  then,  opinions  on 
this  case  differ.  A  killer,  some  claim,  would  have  been  seen  at  seven  in 
the  evening.  Others  say  that  Lincoln  Street  near  First  is  rather  an  odd 
spot  for  one  to  choose  for  such  an  event.  Was  Lake  Ransom  murdered, 
or  did  he  die  by  his  own  hand? 


A  happening  which  caused  some  consternation  in  the  village  for  many 
months,  and  which  drew  the  fire  of  editorial  writers  in  Chicago,  was 
the  naive  neglect  of  the  Village  Board  to  make  its  annual  appropriation 
for  the  year  1883  on  time,  for  then  it  became  necessary  to  improvise  an 
appropriation  and  to  borrow  money  to  meet  expenses,  a  move  that 
aroused  the  ire  of  many  taxpayers.  The  citizens  generally  were  in  much 
of  a  huff,  and  decided  "to  test  the  matter  by  legal  action." 

In  February  of  that  year  the  citizens  group  obtained  an  injunction 
to  prevent  further  collection  of  taxes;  but  "inasmuch  as  some  had  al- 
ready paid,  it  was  hoped  that  the  matter  could  be  adjusted  without 
further  trouble."  On  March  6,  however,  according  to  a  Chicago  paper, 
"The  matter  of  tax  collections  in  Hinsdale  is  likely  to  become  compli- 
cated still  further On  Saturday  evening  last,  the  board 

voted,  after  some  sharp  discussion,  to  seek  legal  advice  (concerning  the 
injunction  that  had  been  served  upon  it).  The  attitude  of  both  parties 
(the  Board  and  the  taxpayers)  is  determined  and  defiant." 

On  March  22,  the  case  having  been  taken  to  court:  "The  excite- 
ment over  the  tax  injunction  case  is  still  high.  The  decision  of  Judge 
Kellum  on  motion  to  dissolve  is  eagerly  awaited."  Apparently  the 
Judge  found  no  malevolent  intent  on  the  part  of  those  at  fault,  for  soon 
a  new  finance  committee  was  appointed,  and  the  collection  of  taxes  was 
resumed. 

With  that  out  of  the  way,  the  village  again  settled  down  to  its  social 
routine.  The  Seven-Up  Club,  and  the  Philomathian  Society,  were  ac- 
tive, their  erudite  proceedings  being  punctuated  on  occasion  by  vocal 
selections  from  Barnaby  or  Gabussi  on  the  part  of  the  "We  Three 
Trio."  But  a  more  important  event  of  the  year  1 883  was  foretold  in  the 
following  announcement: 

"The  graduating  exercises  of  the  fourth  year  class  of  the  High  School  will  take 
place  June  22.  This  is  the  first  class  to  graduate  since  the  High  School  was 
organized,  and  the  event  is  looked  forward  to  with  considerable  interest." 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA 


107 


The  class  of  1893,  the  first  to  graduate  from  Hinsdale  High  School. 

From  left  to  right:    Alice  Warren,  Grace  Redfield, 
Minnie  H.  Robbins,  Mrs.  John  Hall. 


During  the  winter  of  1883-84  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marvin  Fox,  Fullers- 
burg  residents  since  1853,  celebrated  their  fiftieth  wedding  anniver- 
sary. They  were  the  parents  of  Charles,  Jarvis,  and  Heman  Fox. 

Also,  there  was  "quite  a  panic"  in  the  Congregational  Church  one 
Sunday,  caused  by  the  falling  and  smashing  of  a  chandelier.  "The  oil 
ignited  but  was  put  out  promptly." 

Great  surprise  and  regret  were  manifested  when  it  became  known 
that  the  John  H.  Bradley  family  was  moving  away.  Mr.  Bradley  had 


oo 
oo 


o 

■is 

o 

8 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  109 

been  Superintendent  of  the  Illinois  Division  of  the  American  Express 
Company,  and  was  taking  a  higher  position  in  another  city.  Other 
items  tell  of  receptions  at  the  homes  of  Dr.  Van  Liew  and  Anson 
Ayres,  of  Mr.  Sydney  Collins  leaving  to  join  his  family  in  Montreal, 
and  of  a  rousing  Republican  mass  meeting  being  held  in  the  old 
Baptist  Church.  "It  was  probably  the  largest  and  most  enthusiastic 

demonstration  held  this  year  in  Du  Page  County " 

But  striking  a  different  note: 

"Complaints  are  constantly  heard  of  damage  done  by  cattle  roaming  at  large 
through  our  streets,  especially  at  night.  After  months  of  labor  to  produce  a  fine 
garden,  to  have  it  destroyed  in  a  single  night  as  many  have  been,  is  anything 
but  pleasing." 

By  1885  an  orchestra  leader  named  Theodore  Thomas  was  begin- 
ning to  attract  suburbanites  to  his  concerts  in  Chicago,  and  Chautau- 
qua had  reached  Hinsdale: 

"The  Hinsdale  Chautauqua  Circle  held  its  closing  meeting  for  the  year,  on 
Monday  evening,  at  the  residence  of  Dr.  L.  P.  Haskell." 

Not  to  reflect  upon  Dr.  Haskell's  meeting,  but  merely  to  show 
how  the  early  reporters  of  such  gatherings  over-bid  their  hands  at 
times,  the  item  continues: 

"The  exercises  were  varied  and  unexceptionally  interesting An  original 

paper  on  Socrates,  by  Dr.  Keeler,  and  recitations  by  Miss  Lizzie  Bowles  and 
Nettie  Brown.  The  singing  was  admirable,  including  two  Scotch  songs  by  Mr. 
Chapin,  beautifully  rendered.  The  whole  concluded  with  refreshments  and  a 
general  chat-talk-away." 

Chautauqua  was  an  epic  in  America.  In  1874  a  young  New  Jersey 
minister  named  Vincent  opened  an  outdoor  summer  school  at  Lake 
Chautauqua,  N.  Y.  It  was  attended  mostly  by  young  people,  and  was 
an  instantaneous  success.  At  first  religious,  the  courses  later  were  broad- 
ened to  cover  general  cultural  subjects.  The  movement  spread  to  other 
parts  of  the  country,  in  the  form  of  permanent  outdoor  pavilions,  and 
by  means  of  traveling  circuit  tents.  Many  prominent  educators  and 
speakers  were  enlisted.  One  lecture  alone,  Russell  Conwell's  "Acres  of 
Diamonds,"  was  delivered  before  six  thousand  Chautauqua  audiences. 

The  Chautauqua  "Literary  and  Scientific  Circle"  was  the  home 
study  phase  of  the  Chautauqua  movement.  It  grew  from  the  early  stu- 
dent's request  for  something  to  study  after  the  summer  school  had 


io 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


Miss  Blodgett's  first  grade,  1883. 

From  left  to  right— Back  row:  1.  Not  known,  2.  Not  known,  3.  Johnnie  Elmers,  4.  Wallie  Wads- 
worth,  5.  Robert  Childs,  6.  Tom  Murray,  7.  Earl  Needham,  8.  Not  known,  9.  Claude  Bird, 
10.  Will  Farr,  11.  Not  known.  Middle  row:  12.  Not  known,  13.  Lillie  Overstreet,  14.  Mabel 
Chambers,  15.  Miss  Blodgett,  16.  Not  known,  17.  Lizzie  Hoft,  18.  Jessie  Johnston,  19.  Mabel 
Edwards,  20.  Helen  Humphrey,  21.  Charles  Wakeman.  Front  row:  22.  Charles  Prouty,  23.  Mary 
Mills,  24.  Not  known,  25.  Edith  Sandy,  26.  Mrs.  Walter  Bebb  (Edith  Wylie),  27.  Emma  Bradley 
Bliss,  28.  Ruth  Peabody,  29.  Mabel  Warren  Lamb,  30.  Belle  Richards,  31.  Rhoda  Whitmore. 


ended,  and  it  preceded  the  present-day  correspondence  school,  exten- 
sion course,  and  book-club.  Dr.  Haskell  was  sponsor  of  a  Chautauqua 
Circle  in  Hinsdale. 

The  radio,  the  movies,  and  more  accessible  educational  facilities, 
eventually  out-bid  Chautauqua  in  public  favor. 

At  about  this  time,  south  of  Hinsdale  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cass, 
a  general  store  was  opened  by  John  J.  Keig,  a  Manxman.  The  location 
of  his  store  required  a  name,  so  he  called  it  LACE,  that  having  been 
his  mother's  maiden  name,  and  soon  Mr.  Keig  was  appointed  Post- 
master of  Lace.  It  was  here  too  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keig's  son  Marshall 
was  born.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marshall  Keig  now  live  at  444  East  Fourth 
Street. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  111 

In  the  summer  of  1885  the  Young  Ladies'  Guild  of  Grace  Church 
parish  gave  a  successful  "fete  champetre"  at  the  Highlands,  at  the 
residence  of  Judge  C.  G.  Beckwith: 

"The  extensive  grounds  of  the  Judge,  comprising  some  ten  acres  of  wooded 
lawn,  with  a  ravine,  through  which  runs  a  brook  lately  transformed  into  a  lake 
of  considerable  dimensions,  were  lighted  in  a  tasteful  manner  with  hundreds 
of  Chinese  lanterns,  which,  in  conjunction  with  a  remarkably  brilliant  moon, 
produced  a  romantic  and  pretty  effect,  especially  on  the  water.  The  air  being 
cool,  dancing  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  house;  the  boats  on  the  lake  received 
their  share  of  patronage,  and  the  evening  was  most  enjoyably  spent." 

Many  guests  from  the  city  attended  this  affair,  including  Adrian 
Honore,  Eugene  Wood,  and  J.  B.  Mitchell.  In  all  probability  some 
local  youngsters  named  Alex  Dawson,  Tom  Murray,  et  al,  attended 
too,  but  off  behind  the  bushes  as  spectators.  A  little  later,  on  their  way 
home,  they  would  squeeze  through  the  fence  with  their  blouses  filled 
with  grapes  from  Judge  Beckwith's  vines. 

The  Sanitarium  now  covers  the  spot  where  the  Beckwith  house 
stood.  The  "lake"  referred  to  was  more  of  a  large  pond.  It  was  formed 
by  the  damming  of  Flagg  Creek  where  it  runs  through  the  depression 
at  the  rear  of  the  building.  There  were  skating  and  swimming  here, 
as  well  as  boating,  and  on  one  occasion  a  village  lad  dived  into  the  pond 
in  the  middle  of  winter,  with  various  incredulous  persons  looking  on, 
or  running  over  to  see  what  had  happened. 

The  Beckwith  pond  was  one  of  several  within  the  village  limits,  the 
others  being  of  natural  origin.. Today  it  is  surprising  to  learn  that  a 
child  was  saved  from  drowning  forty-eight  years  ago  near  the  southwest 
corner  of  First  and  Oak  Streets.  The  pond  there,  after  a  heavy  rain, 
was  four  or  five  feet  in  depth.  The  rescuers  were  a  couple  of  youngsters 
named  Phil  Clarke  and  Harold  Myers. 


1885  to  igoo 

Who  were  the  proprietors  of  Hinsdale  business  establishments  dur- 
ing these  years?  The  Illinois  State  Gazetteer  of  1886  gives  this  list: 

Philip  Bayer,  barber  Azel  Dorathy,  real  estate 

John  Bohlander,  hardware  Wm.  Evernden,  druggist 

Geo.  T.  Chambers,  express  agent  Thomas  Foster,  cigars 

Fred  C.  Crouse,  general  store  Fox  Brothers,  general  store 


112  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Geo.  H.  French,  blacksmith  T.  F.  Locksmith,  confectioner 

J.  A.  Gifford,  meat  market  J.  H.  Papenhausen,  tailor 

Godefrey  Haake,  shoemaker  Phillip  Torode,  prop.,  Park  Hotel 

John  Hemshell,  meat  market  Perry  S.  Townsend,  coal 

Thos.  T.  Howard,  physician  Frederick  H.  Van  Liew,  physician 

Wm.  Johnston,  carpenter  Mrs.  Emily  Wakeman,  dressmaker 

George  Keys,  jeweler  Jos.  G.  Williamson,  physician 
Walter  Leslie,  shoemaker 


This  list  is  incomplete.  Other  doctors,  building  contractors,  and  a 
lawyer  were  here.  John  Hammond  was  here  also.  A  Civil  War  veteran 
who  formerly  was  employed  at  the  United  States  Naval  Academy, 
John  came  to  Hinsdale,  where  he  and  his  ten  children  have  done  much 
to  help  make  it  a  pleasant  place  in  which  to  live. 

Present-day  Hinsdale  merchants  or  service  establishments  that  have 
operated  continuously  since  the  1890's  are  John  Bohlander,  Jr.  and 
Henry  Bohlander,  the  Hinsdale  Laundry,  E.  Karlson  %c  Son,  the  Morris 
Flower  Shop,  Charles  Pfeifer,  Undertaker,  and  Reineke's  grocery.  Ex- 
cept for  a  few  years  when  it  was  inoperative,  the  H.  R.  Papenhausen 
Company  would  be  the  oldest  business  in  continuous  operation. 

Walter  Leslie,  mentioned  in  the  above  list,  was  a  grandfather  of 
Miss  Jessie  Johnston,  Miss  Johnston  now  resides  at  King-Bruwaert 
House. 

The  Gazetteer  said  Hinsdale's  population  was  1,400  and  indicated 
the  town  as  being  a  shipping  point.  The  principal  commodities 
shipped  out  were  hay,  grain,  and  milk* 

A  motion  to  buy  apparatus  for  fire  protection  was  passed  in  this 
year.  The  equipment  consisted  of  a  horse-drawn  "hook  and  ladder," 
with  a  hose,  axes,  and  other  accessories.  This  was  to  replace  the  hand- 
drawn  hose  and  bucket  wagon  that  had  been  presented  to  the  village 
by  John  C.  Ross.  The  fire  department  was  operated  then,  as  now,  on  a 
semi-volunteer  plan.  To  further  augment  this  protection,  and  the 
water  supply  generally,  ground  was  broken  for  a  new  water  plant  in 
1 886,  and  a  few  years  later  a  second  well  was  sunk. 

It  was  during  the  1880's  that  the  Hinsdale  Club  had  its  beginning. 
At  first  it  was  called  "The  Men's  Club,"  because  it  originated  with  a 
group  of  thirty-five  men  who  used  to  meet  in  rooms  over  the  old  Heine- 
man  store  at  the  northeast  corner  of  First  and  Washington,  and  the 
membership  continued  to  be  confined  to  men  until  the  club  house  was 


ii4  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

built.  According  to  the  old  minute  book,  the  original  equipment  of 
the  club  consisted  of  "3  hanging  lamps,  1  heating  stove  and  pipe,  24  arm 
chairs,  4  card  tables  and  12  spittoons." 

On  April  23,  1889  the  club  was  incorporated  by  E.  P.  Hinds,  W.  B. 
Carleton,  and  Charles  A.  Allen.  Its  purpose  was  purely  social  and  the 
dues  were  a  dollar  a  month.  The  charter  members  were  Charles  A. 
Allen,  W.  B.  Carleton,  R.  A.  Childs,  D.  A.  Courier,  C.  H.  Crossette, 
William  Coffeen,  Azel  Dorathy,  William  Duncan,  H.  F.  Grabo,  L.  K. 
Hilderbrand,  E.  P.  Hinds,  H.  C.  Middaugh,  A.  R.  Robinson,  J.  S. 
Shannon,  F.  T.  Taylor  and  C.  H.  Thayer.  Ten  years  later  the  new 
Hinsdale  Club  house  was  to  open,  and  for  nearly  fifty  years  thereafter 
it  was  to  be  the  focal  point  of  social  and  civic  progress. 

A  severe  diphtheria  epidemic  struck  Hinsdale  during  the  winter 
of  1889.  Between  Christmas  and  the  first  of  March  the  disease  killed 
fifteen  persons,  most  of  whom  were  children.  For  a  while  the  schools 
and  the  churches  were  closed,  and  other  assemblies  prohibited,  to  help 
check  the  disease. 

Did  people  living  in  Hinsdale  drive  their  carriages  to  Chicago 
before  the  Automobile  arrived?  Not  often.  Nevertheless,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  know  that  the  best  road  between  here  and  the  city  during  the 
90's  led  from  Fullersburg  rather  than  Hinsdale,  and  veered  north  from 
Ogden  Avenue  at  Riverside  to  Longcommon  Drive,  and  thence  into 
the  west  side.  That  was  the  route  according  to  a  road  map  issued  by 
the  American  Wheelmen,  a  cycling  association,  in  1892,  and  also  ac- 
cording to  old-timers'  diaries.  The  route  corresponded  closely  to  the 
old  Barry  Point  and  southwest  highway  route  of  the  pioneer  era. 

The  long-distance  cyclists  avoided  Hinsdale  because  no  east-west 
road  ran  through  here  that  was  comparable  with  Ogden  Avenue.  In 
fact  Forty-Seventh  Street  between  here  and  Western  Springs  was  barely 
usable  until  1925.  And  perhaps  our  hotel  in  the  90's  was  no  better  than 
the  ones  in  Fullersburg. 

This  was  the  golden  era  of  the  bicycle.  There  is  not  much  evidence 
of  the  old  high  wheelers'  having  been  used  here,  but  the  "safety"  bi- 
cycle, having  both  front  and  rear  wheels  of  the  same  size,  was  seen  in 
large  numbers  and  they  were  ridden  by  adults,  as  well  as  by  their 
children. 

Races  were  run  in  Hinsdale  every  Saturday  afternoon  during  the 
summer,  creating  wide  interest,  especially  among  the  younger  set. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  115 

They  started  at  the  corner  of  First  and  Elm;  from  there  to  Garfield, 
south  to  Sixth  Street,  east  on  Sixth  to  the  County  Line  Road,  to  First, 
and  back  to  the  starting  point.  This  course  was  known  as  the  "Square." 
One  summer  evening  the  bike  riders  decided  to  stage  a  parade,  and 
soon  a  long  procession  rolled  through  the  village  streets,  to  be  wit- 
nessed by  wide-eyed  boys  and  girls. 

This  means  of  transportation  occasionally  was  employed  between 
here  and  the  city,  and  the  trip  to  the  loop  business  district  could  be 
made  in  an  hour  and  a  half  by  the  best  riders.  A  popular  tour  was  the 
Chicago,  Aurora  and  Elgin  triangle.  This  was  known  as  the  "Century" 
tour,  and  there  is  one  record  of  its  having  been  made  in  the  total  time 
of  12  hours  and  27  minutes,  including  2  hours  and  15  minutes  of  stops. 

The  year  1896  witnessed  a  seven  mile  bicycle  race  between  teams 
representing  Hinsdale  and  La  Grange.  Robert  W.  Clarke,  Jr.,  Carl 
Grabo,  Agard  Ross  and  Nelson  H.  Webster  for  this  village  were  "up." 
The  prizes  for  these  events  were  new  saddles,  tires,  and  trouser  clips. 
Hinsdale  also  entered  teams  in  the  County  Fair  bike  races,  in  Wheaton. 
It  was  during  this  year  too  that  Rhoades  Fayerweather  and  Francis 
Crosby  of  Hinsdale  pedaled  their  bicycles  to  Burlington,  Iowa  and 
back,  and  a  letter  was  received  by  the  Doings  from  Albert  Williams 
describing  his  tour  of  Europe  on  a  bicycle.  An  1893  entry  in  the  diary 
of  a  Hinsdalean  says,  "I  rode  my  bicycle  to  the  city  before  breakfast 
this  morning." 

Cycling  offered  an  early  outlet  to  that  combination  of  mechanical 
interest  and  eagerness  to  go,  which  is  so  inherent  in  the  various  means 
of  transportation.  Even  the  automobile  and  the  plane  have  not  en- 
tirely voided  the  bicycle. 


One  of  the  principal  houses  of  worship  from  the  early  1890's  until 
1916  was  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  founder  and  leading  spirit  in 
which  was  Mr.  Robert  W.  Clarke.  The  church  edifice  was  a  large  frame 
structure  built  on  the  southeast  corner  of  First  and  Garfield,  by  the 
members  of  this  faith  who  had  formed  themselves  into  the  Presbyterian 
Society,  before  the  church  was  erected.  When  the  Presbyterians  and 
Congregationalists  joined  to  form  the  Union  Church,  the  former's 
building  was  purchased  by  the  Episcopalians,  and  was  used  by  that 
congregation  as  a  parish  house  for  several  years. 


n6 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


.  ■ » 


The  stone  school  on  the  Garfield  hill,  after  it  had  been  enlarged. 
It  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1893. 


The  Index,  Hinsdale's  first  newspaper,  which  was  started  in  1872 
by  Mr.  T.  E.  Lonergan  and  was  managed  by  him,  and  F.  W.  Shewell, 
had  printed  its  last  edition  by  1896. 

But  The  Beacon  was  still  alive,  and  editorially  it  raised  the  ques- 
tion of  why  some  Hinsdale  citizens  sent  their  children  to  the  high 
school  in  La  Grange  and  bought  their  groceries  in  Chicago.  But  that 
was  just  before  the  Fox  &  Davis  store  opened  its  doors  and  began  selling 
flour  at  $3.40  a  barrel,  butter  for  24  cents  a  pound,  and  three  boxes  of 
Frazer's  axle  grease  for  2 1  cents. 

The  Beacon  mentioned  certain  home  owners  who  were  not  keep- 
ing the  plank  walks  in  repair,  in  front  of  their  properties.  But  it  also 
told  of  a  movement  toward  general  betterment  of  municipal  works  and 
facilities.  On  January  3,  1891,  a  public  meeting  was  held,  probably  at 
Gardner's  Hall,  to  organize  a  committee  for  public  improvements.  Mr. 
Robert  W.  Clarke  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee.  Available  rec- 
ords do  not  reveal  a  correlation  between  the  initiation  of  this  move 
toward  betterment  of  village  works  and  facilities,  and  actual  construe- 


THE  ELEGANT   ERA 


117 


..-., 


The  Heineman  building,  on  the  northeast  corner  of  First  and  Washington 
housed  a  store,  The  Hinsdale  Beacon,  and  the  Hinsdale  Club. 


tion  of  the  improvements  that  took  place  between  1893  and  1905,  but 
perhaps  the  elements  of  cause  and  effect  were  quite  clear  to  those  liv- 
ing at  the  time. 

Old  plank  sidewalks  began  to  give  way  to  cement,  and  wooden 
water  mains  to  metal  and  tile.  More  gravel  and  crushed  rock  was  used 
to  cover  the  streets.  First  Street,  in  fact,  was  paved  with  brick  in  the 
early  Nineties,  and  perhaps  Garfield  and  Sixth  at  about  the  same  time. 
Elsewhere  wooden  blocks  were  tried.  Eventually,  almost  every  meeting 
of  the  Village  Board  during  these  years  was  largely  devoted  to  measures 
looking  toward  betterment  of  plant,  equipment,  and  facilities;  doing 
away  with  the  old,  in  favor  of  the  new. 

The  Doings  started  publication  in  1895.  From  some  of  its  early 
issues  we  learn  that  Reverend  D.  S.  Johnson  had  become  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  and  Dr.  Preston  the  new  Congregational  minis- 
ter. Lectures  on  various  subjects  were  being  held  in  Gardner's  Hall, 
and  a  Woman's  Club  reception  was  attended  there  by  two  hundred 
persons.  Hugh  Ditzler  was  showing  promise  as  an  artist.  Certain  ''best 
sellers"  had  arrived  at  the  library,  among  them  "Alice  in  Wonderland" 


n8  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

and  "Cloister  and  the  Hearth."  Athletics  was  in  the  news.  Whereas 
baseball,  hunting,  and  fishing  had  been  the  only  sports  of  the  past,  the 
game  of  tennis  had  now  made  its  debut,  to  be  followed  soon  by  foot- 
ball. Tennis  began  with  small  neighborhood  groups,  such  as  the  Ten 
Tennis  Club,  organized  by  Messrs.  Beam,  Clarke,  Crossette,  Holcomb, 
and  Wilson,  in  1893. 

In  Fullersburg,  horse  racing  was  in  vogue,  on  a  track  at  Ogden  and 
Wolf  Road,  entrants  from  Lyons  being  the  principal  rivals.  In  the 
society  news  from  there,  appeared  the  names  of  the  Mesdames  Bretes, 
Coleman,  Francis,  Hambel,  and  Ruchty. 

As  the  1 890's  progressed,  there  came  rumors  of  an  electric  railroad, 
that  was  to  pass  through  Hinsdale,  a  new  subject  for  the  neighborhood 
to  ponder.  Some  were  "for"  and  others  "against."  At  first  it  was  favored 
by  the  local  merchants,  who  visualized  a  stimulation  of  their  trade. 
So  the  Village  Board  met  with  the  Western  Springs  Board  to  discuss 
the  prospects,  inasmuch  as  the  two  villages  would  have  been  similarly 
affected  by  an  electric  railroad.  But  this  flurry  of  interest  died  out  after 
a  petition  opposing  the  project  had  been  signed  by  a  number  of  citizens, 
and  nothing  further  was  heard  of  the  proposed  road  for  two  or  three 
years. 

Electric  lights  for  the  village,  however,  were  decidedly  on  the  way. 
By  1 895  the  generator  was  installed,  the  streets  were  wired  for  electric 
arc  lights,  and  current  was  available  for  those  homes  that  chose  to  use 
this  new  convenience.  Improved  illumination  was  accompanied  by  the 
installation  of  street  markers  at  the  intersections. 

This  bare  announcement  of  the  initial  functioning  of  the  electric 
plant,  however,  does  not  tell  how  the  move  was  started  in  the  first  place, 
and  the  plant  established.  It  is  another  story  of  a  village  need  being  met 
by  the  foresight  and  enterprize  of  certain  citizens.  Briefly,  J.  C.  F. 
Merrill,  H.  A.  Gardner,  John  C.  Ross,  George  Robbins,  and  others 
formed  a  corporation,  capitalized,  and  built  the  plant,  and  then  sold 
it  to  the  village.  They  believed  that  electricity  would  come  to  the  town 
more  quickly  in  this  way.  Previously,  a  similar  boost  had  been  given  to 
the  water  plant  movement.  The  habit  of  getting  things  done  in  Hins- 
dale was  not  on  the  wane. 

In  this  year  there  was  talk  of  telephones  being  available  soon.  Mc- 
Gee's  drug  store,  now  Vann's,  already  had  one,  for  the  use  of  those 
whose  messages  were  urgent.  Chicago  had  them,  also  some  of  the  other 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  119 

suburbs.  They  would  be  an  improvement  over  the  telegraph  instru- 
ments with  which  some  village  homes  had  been  equipped  for  the  past 
twenty  years. 


On  a  Saturday  night  in  March  of  1896  a  most  deplorable  tragedy  oc- 
curred at  the  Washington  Street  rail  crossing.  The  three  W.  L.  Black- 
man  children,  Carlos,  Margery,  and  Willis  had  been  driven  by  the 
family  coachman,  Samuel  Russell,  to  a  band  concert  at  Unity  Church. 
At  about  10:15,  the  entertainment  over,  they  started  for  home,  going 
south  from  the  church,  down  the  hill  on  Washington  to  the  crossing. 

Between  the  church  and  the  tracks  there  were,  at  that  time,  many 
trees,  the  Park  Hotel,  and  a  blacksmith  shop,  and  on  that  particular 
night  two  freight  cars  stood  on  a  siding,  north  of  the  old  depot.  As  the 
phaeton  approached  the  crossing,  the  rear  end  of  a  freight  train  was 
just  passing  to  the  westward,  and  Russell,  the  coachman,  did  not  see  or 
hear  the  Katy  Flyer,  No.  50,  heading  in  from  that  same  direction  at 
forty  or  fifty  miles  an  hour.  The  horse  hit  the  side  of  the  locomotive, 
and  was  carried  eastward.  This  swung  the  carriage  around,  bringing 
its  right  side  in  contact  with  the  left  side  of  the  train.  Little  Carlos 
Blackman,  age  five,  and  the  coachman  were  instantly  killed.  Margery, 
nine,  and  Willis,  fifteen,  were  badly  injured.  When  people  came  run- 
ning to  the  scene,  Willis  insisted  that  he  was  all  right,  and  that  help  be 
given  to  the  others.  They  were  taken  into  the  station,  and  then  to  their 
home  at  the  Highlands.  Doctors  Hench  and  Ohls  said  the  two  older 
children  would  live;  and  they  did.  Margery,  Mrs.  James  Bailey,  re- 
sided here  many  years  following  this  occurrence.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Willis 
L.  Blackman  now  live  on  south  Washington  Street. 

It  was  in  the  early  1830's  that  the  first  members  of  the  F.  O.  Butler 
family  came  West.  The  very  earliest  to  come,  going  to  Naperville,  and 
later  to  St.  Charles  on  the  Fox  River,  was  Oliver  Morris  Butler.  In  the 
year  1841,  in  association  with  B.  T.  Hunt,  he  completed  the  first  paper 
mill  west  of  the  Alleghenies  at  St.  Charles.  In  those  days  paper  was 
hauled  by  team  to  and  from  Chicago  and  elsewhere.  Eventually,  the 
Butlers  came  to  realize  the  desirability  of  Hinsdale  and  its  environs  as 
a  residential  location,  and  so,  in  the  early  lSgo's  bought  property  on 
First  Street  in  Hinsdale,  Julius  W.  Butler  coming  to  live  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  First  and  Orchard  Place.  A  few  years  later  his  son,  Frank 


120  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

O.  Butler,  built  the  brick  dwelling  at  230  E.  First,  the  site  of  the  former 
Graves  home. 

The  beautiful  Meenely  chimes  in  the  bell  tower  of  the  Union 
Church,  which  for  many  years  have  tolled  their  message  of  warmth  and 
consolation  to  all  Hinsdaleans,  were  given  by  Frank  O.  Butler  in  mem- 
ory of  his  father. 

Frank  O.  Butler  also  developed  a  small  cemetery  in  the  attractive 
and  peaceful  northwest  section  of  Hinsdale,  there  erecting  a  mauso- 
leum wherein  lie  the  remains  of  both  his  parents  and  grandparents. 
The  cemetery  is  reserved  for  relatives  and  old  associates,  both  business 
and  otherwise. 

In  1 898  Mr.  Frank  O.  Butler,  looking  for  farm  land  in  this  vicinity, 
decided  on  a  site  of  natural  beauty  on  the  west  bank  of  Salt  Creek. 
The  stream  was  bordered  by  oak  trees,  so  the  place  was  named  Oak 
Brook  Farm.  A  country  residence,  large  stables  and  adjoining  build- 
ings were  erected.  Other  lands  were  gradually  added  to  the  original 
tract  until  the  farm  became  one  of  the  largest  in  the  region,  enabling 
Mr.  Butler  to  give  expression  to  his  life-long  interest  in  pure-bred  live 
stock  and  fine  horses. 

Natoma  Dairy  was  acquired  from  Mr.  George  B.  Robbins  and 
flourished  for  many  years  as  an  adjunct  to  Oak  Brook  Farm.  It  was  one 
of  the  pioneers  in  the  furnishing  of  "certified"  milk,  that  nation-wide 
move  which  accompanied  our  pure  food  laws  and  the  inspection  of 
meat.  For  a  long  time  the  Natoma  Dairy  wagons  were  a  familiar  sight 
throughout  Hinsdale  and  the  neighboring  area. 

Mr.  Butler  initiated  the  move  toward  the  setting  aside  of  land  for 
forest  preserves  in  Du  Page  County,  and  in  various  other  ways  his 
public-spirited  activities  have  helped  to  shape  and  give  character  to  the 
village  of  Hinsdale  and  environs. 

The  various  farm  properties  now  are  owned  by  Mr.  Butler's  son 
Paul,  who  also  is  the  present  owner  and  operator  of  the  Butler  Com- 
pany, which  was  originally  created  in  1844.  In  1929  Mr.  Paul  Butler 
organized  the  Oak  Brook  Polo  Club,  destined  to  become  one  of  the 
most  active  inter-sectional  participants  in  polo. 

Mr.  F.  O.  Butler's  only  other  son,  Julius  W.  Butler,  and  his  family, 
live  at  Hot  Springs,  South  Dakota. 

Elbert  H.  Gary,  of  Wheaton,  the  County  Attorney,  was  trying  some 
cases  in  Hinsdale  just  before  the  turn  of  the  century.  Later,  Mr.  Gary 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  121 

became  chairman  of  the  Board  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation. 

The  Spanish  American  War  was  in  progress,  and  The  Doings  pub- 
lished letters  from  two  local  boys,  Howard  Scotford  and  Bert  Edwards, 
who  were  serving  in  the  Navy.  After  the  sinking  of  the  Maine,  Hins- 
dale's Fourth  of  July  celebrations  reflected  the  aroused  feeling  of 
patriotism.  That  war  required  no  organized  Red  Cross  work  in  the 
village,  but  parcels  and  letters  were  sent  to  Hinsdale  soldiers  and  sailors 
by  their  friends  and  relatives. 

In  October  1899  the  commodious  new  Hinsdale  Club  House  was 
opened,  with  an  informal  reception.  The  guests  were  received  by  Mrs. 
W.  H.  Knight,  president  of  the  Woman's  Club  and  Mr.  J.  A.  Blood, 
president  of  the  Men's  Club.  Except  for  the  Spanish  War,  then  in 
progress,  doubtless  it  would  have  been  a  more  elaborate  opening,  for 
this  was  to  prove  a  turning  point  in  the  social  life  of  the  town.  The 
meetings,  dances,  plays,  lectures,  bowling  tournaments,  and  other 
functions  that  have  taken  place  there,  run  into  thousands,  and  many 
important  decisions  bearing  upon  village  progress  have  been  formu- 
lated within  its  frame  walls.  As  is  generally  known,  the  old  Club  build- 
ing is  now  the  Community  House,  at  First  and  Garfield. 

Social  life  in  general,  though  no  less  active  than  it  had  been  in 
former  years,  was  taking  different  forms.  Instead  of  the  Cultivators  and 
the  Baker's  Dozen,  the  Archers,  and  the  Equestrians,  there  now  was 
the  Country  Tennis  Club,  both  athletic  and  social.  The  Woman's  Club 
was  under  way,  churches  were  holding  large  functions,  each  in  its  own 
quarters,  and  plans  were  formulating  for  a  golf  club. 

Then,  as  now,  cheerful  news  was  sprinkled  with  the  sad.  The  town's 
early  arrivals  were  beginning  to  pass  on,  among  them  James  Swartout, 
who  had  arrived  here  in  1 864;  C.  E.  Hinds;  J.  B.  Doane,  whose  tomb  in 
the  woods  along  north  Adams  Street  was  a  familiar  landmark;  and 
Robert  W.  Clarke,  in  his  forty-eighth  year. 

Cemeteries  of  the  neighborhood  were  the  burial  grounds  of  the 
Torode  family  north  of  Fullersburg,  and  of  the  Fuller  family  at  the 
north  end  of  Garfield  Avenue.  The  latter  was  eventually  developed 
into  the  Fullersburg  Cemetery.  There  is  a  small,  but  very  old  burying 
ground  south  of  Clarendon  Hills,  at  about  Sixty-third  Street,  where 
some  of  the  pioneer  farmers  of  the  area  are  resting.  Within  compara- 
tively recent  years  a  semi-private  cemetery  has  been  established  by 
Mr.  F.  O.  Butler  northwest  of  Hinsdale. 


22 


VILLAGE   ON    THE   COUNTY  LINE 


The  oldest  existing  dwelling  in  Hinsdale,  at  120  E.  Fifth  Street,  was  built  by  William 
Robbins  in  1863.  A  wing,  at  the  rear,  was  added  by  A.  L.  Pearsall. 


Back  in  1 883  "a  committee  of  citizens"  had  been  appointed  in  Hins- 
dale "to  consider  the  subject  of  cemetery  sites."  There  is  no  record  of 
the  findings  of  this  committee,  but  it  is  known  that  the  cemetery  now 
called  Bronswood  was  in  existence  in  1888  under  the  proprietorship  of 
Mr.  G.  K.  Wright.  In  1907  Mr.  Charles  A.  Brown  purchased  the  prop- 
erty and  brought  about  extensive  improvements.  Following  Mr. 
Brown's  death  the  cemetery  almost  slipped  beyond  Hinsdale  owner- 
ship and  control.  Rather  than  allow  this  to  happen,  Mr.  Philip 
R.  Clarke  bought  the  property,  and  it  continues  to  be  managed  by 
and  for  Hinsdale  people,  though  families  elsewhere  are  not  barred 
from  its  use. 


There  follows  a  review  of  some  of  Hinsdale's  residents  who  were  here 
when  the  village  was  small;  during  that  elegant  era  of  the  70's,  8o's, 
and  90's.  With  few  exceptions,  the  houses  in  which  these  families  lived 
are  still  standing.  But  the  house  numbering  system  throughout  the  vil- 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  123 

lage  was  changed  within  recent  years,  so  where  numbers  appear,  they 
are  the  present  numbers: # 

Charles  A.  Allen.  N.  E.  corner  of  Washington  and  Hickory.  A  manufacturing 
jeweler.  Mr.  Allen  was  a  Civil  War  veteran,  and  each  year  after  the  Memorial 
Day  parade,  he  entertained  the  surviving  members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  on  the 
lawn  of  his  home.  (See  page  124)  He  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  H.  C.  Knisley, 
mother  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Abbott. 

Anson  Ayres.  7  W.  Ayres  Avenue,  where  the  W.  H.  Regnerys  now  live.  Mr. 
Ayres  owned  one  of  the  three  tracts  of  land  which  formed  the  original  north 
side  subdivisions.  He  was  active  in  village  and  county  affairs;  was  father  of 
Frank  E.  Ayres,  grandfather  of  Robert  B.  Ayres.  In  the  olden  days  there  was  a 
well  of  fine  water  on  the  premises,  drawn  up  by  buckets. 

W.  S.  Banker.  His  house,  built  in  the  1870's  stood  on  the  site  of  the  N.  W. 
corner  of  Park  and  Third.  Many  of  the  young  married  people  who  came  to 
Hinsdale  boarded  with  the  Bankers  while  their  homes  were  being  built. 
Two  subsequent  houses  on  this  lot,  the  Schuyler's  and  the  Root's,  burned. 
The  present  one  is  the  home  of  the  late  George  H.  Bell. 

C.  M.  Barnes.  N.  W.  corner  of  Washington  and  Second.  This  little  house,  still 
standing,  is  the  one  Mr.  Barnes  built  in  the  1860's.  The  first  baby  on  the 
south  side  was  born  here,  and  Mr.  Robbins  presented  the  baby  with  a  lot.  Mr. 
Barnes  was  a  publisher  in  Chicago. 

W.  T.  Barr.  One  of  the  first,  if  not  the  original  resident  at  115  E.  Fifth.  Mr. 
Barr  married  Annie  Haskell. 

Enos  M.  Barton  built  Sedgeley  House  and  farm  on  the  east  side  of  south 
County  Line  road,  the  estate  now  owned  by  James  A.  Hannah.  It  was  back 
in  1869  that  Mr.  Barton,  with  Elisha  Gray  entered  the  then  infant  electrical 
manufacturing  business  in  a  loft  shop  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  the  business  later 
being  moved  to  Chicago. 

Elisha  Gray  had  invented  a  telephone,  but  was  the  loser  in  a  patent  contest 
with  Alexander  Graham  Bell.  Nevertheless,  telephones  had  to  be  made,  so 
Gray  and  Barton  began  making  them.  Mr.  Barton  had  moved  to  Hinsdale, 
and  while  living  here  decided  on  the  site  for  his  plant  on  Cicero  Ave.,  on  the 
western  edge  of  Chicago,  which  later  became  known  as  the  Hawthorne  Works 
of  the  Western  Electric  Company.  Most  of  the  world's  telephone  instruments 
have  been  made  there.  The  Gray-Bar  Company,  electrical  equipment  sup- 
pliers, obtained  its  name  from  Messrs.  Gray  and  Barton.  Many  of  the  old- 
timers  recall  the  Sedgeley  House  Tally-ho,  and  the  farm's  fine  cattle  and  sheep. 

Mr.  E.  E.  Gray,  who  lived  in  Hinsdale  during  the  early  1900's,  and  who 
raised  trotting  horses  near  the  Highlands,  was  Elisha  Gray's  son.  E.  E.  Gray's 
son  Ted  married  Winnie  Blackmail  of  this  village. 


*  The  original  purpose  of  this  section  of  Chapter  VII  was  that  of  pointing  to  a  few  examples 
of  old  Hinsdale  nouses.  Although  items  of  information  concerning  those  who  lived  in  them 
have  been  added,  this  is  not  intended  as  a  directory  of  early  residents.  Such  a  compilation,  if 
complete,  would  require  much  more  space. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  125 

Jesse  Barton.  626  N.  Washington.  A  former  Barton  house  stood  on  the  same 
site.  Mr.  Barton  was  General  Counsel  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  At 
other  times  he  had  been  employed  by  the  Great  Western  and  the  B.  k  O. 

O.  P.  Bassett  first  occupied  the  house  on  Woodside  Drive  that  was  later  known 
as  the  Murray  place,  and  which  burned  some  years  ago.  About  1900  he  built 
the  house  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Sixth  and  Oak. 

C.  G.  Beckwith.  The  Beckwith  home,  as  mentioned  elsewhere,  stood  on  land 
now  occupied  by  the  Hinsdale  Sanitarium.  Judge  Beckwith  was  General 
Counsel  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton  Railroad.  The  house  was  built  by  Mr. 
John  W.  Reed. 

W.  L.  Blackman  came  to  Hinsdale  in  the  1880's  while  engaging  in  the  grain 
business  in  Chicago.  He  purchased  "Oaklawn"  from  the  Sanders  family. 
This  residence  had  been  built  by  the  H.  L.  Storeys,  immediately  south  of  the 
Highlands  station.  There  the  Blackmans  entertained  their  many  friends  at 
large  lawn  parties  and  other  gatherings.  The  house  burned  in  1914.  Mr. 
Willis  L.  Blackman,  a  son,  lives  on  south  Washington  Street. 

A.  H.  Blodgett.  319  N.  Lincoln.  Before  they  came  to  Hinsdale,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Blodgett  had  lived  for  a  while  at  Fort  Dearborn  before  it  was  dismantled, 
and  elsewhere  in  Chicago.  Their  daughter  Georgia  had  a  remarkable  career 
as  teacher  of  the  first  grade  at  the  Maple  Street  school  for  more  than  forty 
years,  and  as  head  of  the  Infant  Department  of  the  Congregational  Church 
for  almost  as  long.  There  was  another  daughter  Laura,  and  a  son  Silas.  "Si" 
Blodgett,  a  grandson,  played  on  the  town  football  team. 

James  A.  Blood.  S.  E.  corner  of  Washington  and  Walnut,  was  a  brother-in-law 
of  the  eligible  village  bachelor  Harry  Maydwell.  Mr.  Blood  was  a  village 
trustee  in  1893  and  was  mentioned  often  in  items  of  news  about  the  town. 

H.  Boerger,  223  S.  Quincy.  This  house  is  a  period  piece,  one  of  the  best 
remaining  examples  of  local  architecture  of  the  1870's.  It  was  built  by  Mr. 
O.  J.  Stough,  occupied  by  the  Boerger  family  and  others.  (Note  the  tower, 
and  the  window  "caps.") 

John  G.  Bohlander,  27  S.  Garfield.  Hinsdale's  early  hardware,  coal  and  grain 
merchant,  whose  son  John,  Jr.  still  resides  at  this  address,  came  to  Hinsdale 
in  1871  after  having  been  reared  on  his  father's  farm  near  York  Center, 
Du  Page  County.  John,  Jr.  has  spent  his  entire  life  in  the  village,  carrying 
on  the  business  started  by  his  father. 

Edwin  Bowles,  built  and  lived  in  the  frame  house  immediately  south  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  in  fact  the  Bank  was  built  on  land  that  used  to  be  the 
Bowles'  side  yard.  Mr.  Bowles  was  a  deacon  of  the  Congregational  Church. 

John  Bradley,  1 19  N.  Lincoln,  was  an  official  of  the  American  Express  Company 
and  a  leader  in  that  business.  This  distinguished  family  moved  from  here 
to  Milwaukee,  and  later  to  New  York.  Ralph  Bradley,  a  son,  now  lives  in 
Chicago. 


126  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Lafayette  Briggs  lived  at  127  E.  Fifth.  He  was  in  a  branch  of  the  transportation 
industry,  and  was  one  of  the  first  villagers  to  discard  his  horse  in  favor  of  an 
automobile. 

Walter  Buffington  came  to  Hinsdale  as  a  child,  with  his  mother  who  chose 
the  house  at  the  S.  E.  corner  of  Hickory  and  Park.  Mr.  Buffington  started  as 
office  boy  with  the  C.  D.  Peacock  Company,  and  became  its  vice  president. 

Frank  O.  Butler,  230  E.  First  Street.  See  page  119. 

Julius  W.  Butler,  Northwest  corner,  First  Street  and  Orchard  Place.  See 
page  119. 

F.  S.  Cable,  manufacturer  of  the  Cable  piano,  made  exploratory  sojourns  to 
Hinsdale  in  the  1890's  and  finally  settled  at  222  E.  Third,  a  house  still 
occupied  by  his  daughter  Gladys.  Other  daughters  are  Anne  Cable  Powell, 
Rachel  Cable  Hench,  and  Dorothy  Cable. 

Judge  J.  W.  Carey  built  the  house  at  205  E.  Sixth,  later  the  home  of  J.  C.  Davis, 
vice  president  of  operations,  American  Steel  Foundries. 

Robert  A.  Childs.  His  house  stood  on  the  site  of  118  E.  Third  where  his  son 
Lester  C.  now  lives.  Some  years  later  he  built  and  occupied  the  dwelling  at 
318  S.  Garfield.  After  four  years  of  combat  in  the  Civil  War  and  serving  as 
principal  of  public  schools  at  Amboy,  Illinois,  Mr.  Childs  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  Chicago  about  1873  and  made  his  home  in  Hinsdale  thereafter. 
He  displayed  a  keen  interest  in  government  and  became  a  member  of 
Congress  from  this  district  during  the  Cleveland  administration.  Other  chil- 
dren of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Childs  are  Robert,  Kent,  George,  and  John. 

Robert  W.  Clarke.  While  living  in  Chicago,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarke  were 
attracted  to  Hinsdale,  and  for  the  summer  of  1886  they  rented  Mr.  G.  W. 
Hinckley's  house  at  the  southwest  corner  of  First  and  Park.  In  1887  a  lot  was 
purchased  on  the  northwest  corner  of  First  and  Elm.  The  house  they  built 
there,  and  which  is  still  standing,  was  occupied  the  following  year.  Three 
children,  Robert  Jr.,  Nellie  (the  late  Mrs.  William  B.  McKeand)  and  Norman 
came  with  them  to  Hinsdale.  Philip  R.  Clarke  was  born  in  the  new  home. 
Railroads,  mining,  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  the  Hinsdale  Presbyterian 
Church,  which  he  founded,  were  among  Mr.  Clarke's  interests,  and  he  also 
initiated  the  program  of  local  municipal  improvements  that  went  forward 
between  1895  an<^  19°5- 

William  Coffeen  built  the  house  where  Mrs.  Samuel  Dean  lives,  at  306  S. 
Garfield,  after  having  lived  in  Hinsdale  for  some  years.  His  mother  helped 
organize  the  Fresh  Air  Association. 

Sydney  T.  Collins  came  to  Hinsdale  from  Montreal  about  1875  and  built  the 
house  at  513  S.  Garfield,  where  his  son  Arthur  F.  Collins  and  his  family  now 
live.  Mr.  Collins  was  long  identified  with  the  Commercial  Union  Insurance 
Company.  In  Hinsdale,  horses,  then  golf  and  gardening  were  his  hobbies. 
An  older  son,  Sydney  T.  Jr.,  lives  in  Chicago. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  127 

L.  P.  Conover  built  the  house  at  307  S.  Lincoln.  A  Chicago  lawyer,  and  served 
as  Village  Attorney.  The  Conover  children  are  Polly,  Harvey,  and  Richard. 

W.  P.  Cortis,  114  E.  5th.  Settled  here  in  1890.  His  son  Fred  married  Dorothy 
Davis.  The  other  children  were  Marjorie,  Edith  and  Robert. 

D.  A.  Courter,  who  lived  in  the  house  on  the  northwest  corner  of  First  and 
Blaine,  was  well-known  in  the  early  village.  He  was  one-time  Postmaster,  also 
Justice  of  the  Peace.  He  had  come  to  Hinsdale  following  a  strenuous  industrial 
career  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

Deacon  James  Craigmile,  who  resided  at  the  N.  W.  corner  of  Grant  and  Second, 
was  often  mentioned  in  the  early  news  items.  There  were  five  Craigmile 
brothers  who  lived  out  on  the  Plainfield  Road  in  the  1850's,  relatives  of 
Deacon  James. 

D.  J.  Crocker,  attorney.  The  house  stood  on  the  site  of  the  P.  R.  Clarke 
property  at  419  S.  Oak. 

William  D.  Crooke.  This  family  built  the  house  at  the  N.  E.  corner  of  First 
and  Park,  where  the  A.  C.  Bryans  lived  for  so  long,  and  which  now  is  occupied 
by  Dr.  August  H.  Lueders.  Mrs.  Lydia  Hedgecock,  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Crooke, 
recently  moved  from  Hinsdale  to  Arizona. 

E.  C.  Crosby.  Built  various  Hinsdale  houses  following  a  career  in  education. 
He  lived  longest  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Hazel  Ballou.  Francis 
Crosby,  a  son,  now  is  a  resident  of  San  Francisco. 

Charles  H.  Crossette,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Cutter  &  Crossette,  shirt  manu- 
facturers, became  a  resident  of  Hinsdale  in  1885,  and  lived  in  the  house 
numbered  33  E.  Fifth  street.  At  one  time  Mr.  Crossette  was  president  of  the 
Hinsdale  Club.  There  were  sons  Charles,  Murray,  and  Robert,  and  a  daughter, 
Aurelia. 

Charles  H.  Cushing,  16  W.  Fifth  street.  President  of  the  Cushing  Printing  Co. 
in  Chicago,  and  also  publisher  of  The  Hinsdale  Beacon,  newspaper  of  the 
1880's  and  go's. 

Otis  Cushing  came  to  Hinsdale  in  1886  and  built  the  house  at  135  E.  Fifth  in 
which  his  son  Otis  R.  now  lives.  Mr.  Cushing  was  sales  manager  of  Cutter  & 
Crossette,  manufacturers  of  men's  wear.  Other  children  were  Lucretia  (Mrs. 
W.  P.  Cortis)  ,  George,  Charlotte,  Almira,  Florence,  and  Irene. 

J.  J.  Danforth.  This  family  lived  in  the  old  David  Roth  homestead  at  222  E. 
Chicago  Ave.  Many  Hinsdaleans  remember  the  Danforth  daughters,  Winne- 
fred  and  Alice.  Mr.  Danforth  was  a  vice  president  of  the  Chicago  Title  & 
Trust  Co. 

Thomas  Dawson  arrived  in  Hinsdale  about  1882  and  became  a  building  con- 
tractor. The  Presbyterian  Church  was  among  the  buildings  he  erected.  His 
son  Alex  Dawson  is  likewise  a  builder.  The  Thomas  Dawson  house  is  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Elm  and  Hickory. 


128  VILLAGE   ON    THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Harvey  S.  Dean,  327  E.  Third.  The  Harvey  Deans  arrived  in  Hinsdale  in  the 
middle  8o's.  Mr.  Dean  was  in  the  insurance  business  in  Chicago,  on  the 
School  Board  in  Hinsdale,  and  an  active  member  of  the  Congregational 
Church.  The  children:  Olive,  Louella  (Mrs.  E.  D.  Holmes)  and  Hazen  S. 
Dean. 

Robert  H.  Dean,  337  E.  Third,  brother  of  Mr.  Harvey  S.  Dean,  moved  to  the 
village  in  the  same  year.  He  was  on  the  Board  of  Trade  in  Chicago.  The 
Robert  Dean  children  are  Earl,  Robert,  Grace  (Mrs.  F.  C.  Bebb)  and  Edward. 

George  P.  Derrickson  took  an  active  interest  in  the  schools  of  Hinsdale.  He 
lived  in,  and  probably  built,  the  house  on  the  N.  E.  corner  of  Hickory  and 
Washington,  where  the  C.  A.  Aliens  lived  later. 


E.  H.  Ditzler.  Came  to  Hinsdale  in  1889.  He  had  served  in  the  Civil  War.  Mr. 
Ditzler  joined  Mr.  T.  H.  Linsley  in  purchasing  the  Fox  Brothers'  store.  The 
firm  of  Ditzler  and  Linsley  remained  active  until  the  business  was  bought 
by  R.  M.  Clubb,  in  1909. 

Michael  A.  Donohue,  owner  of  a  printing  and  publishing  concern  in  Chicago, 
lived  in  the  first  house  north  of  Chicago  Ave.  on  the  west  side  of  Lincoln.  Mr. 
Donohue  was  Village  President  for  three  years,  starting  in  1875.  His  publish- 
ing company  is  still  in  business. 

William  Duncan,  424  S.  Washington.  He  served  as  a  Village  Trustee  for  seven 
years,  and  was  a  pioneer  amateur  photographer. 

John  Earle.  N.  E.  corner  of  Walnut  and  Elm.  The  original  Earle  home  has 
since  been  divided  into  two  houses.  The  Earles  came  from  England.  They 
had  several  children. 

W.  P.  Edwards.  315  S.  Washington.  A  court  reporter.  Father  of  Bert  Edwards, 
Mable  and  Will.  Will  married  Helen  McCurdy. 

Andreaus  Elmers  was  a  contractor.  He  built  his  house  at  115  E.  Fourth  street, 
and  a  number  of  others  in  town. 

William  Evernden.  212  S.  Washington  street.  According  to  one  source,  "the 
last  of  the  deer  hunts  was  still  in  the  future  when  Bill  Evernden  decided  to 
settle  here"  after  working  for  a  while  for  the  County's  Road  Surveyor.  He 
operated  one  of  the  first  drug  stores  and  became  a  friend  and  counselor  of 
many  a  village  youth. 

Farrel,  James,  is  remembered  as  the  occupant  of  the  little  frame  house  at  914 
York,  and  possibly  he  built  it.  It  is  antedated  by  few  buildings  of  the  Brush 
Hill  era. 

Charles  Fox,  S.  W.  corner  of  Ogden  and  Lincoln.  With  his  brother  Heman  he 
operated  a  widely  patronized  grocery  in  Fnllersburg,  and  later  in  Hinsdale. 

Heman  Fox,  N.  W.  corner  of  Washington  and  Walnut.  Formerly  he  occupied 
his  father's  house  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Ogden  and  Lincoln,  which  was 
later  used  by  the  Fresh  Air  Association. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  129 

W.  H.  Freeman,  built  the  house  at  123  N.  Park  in  1892,  when  Park  was  called 
Pine  Street,  and  had  not  been  extended  that  far  north.  Mr.  Freeman  was  a 
wool  merchant  and  an  ardent  golfer.  His  sons  are  Courtney,  Charles,  and 
Philip. 

Lemuel  H.  Freer,  505  S.  County  Line  Road.  As  a  young  man  Mr.  Freer  went 
from  Chicago  to  ranching  in  Colorado,  in  1870.  He  returned  to  enter  the 
real  estate  business  in  Chicago  during  that  period  when  city  land  values  were 
still  expanding.  In  1897  he  bought  an  extensive  tract  of  land  on  the  east  side 
of  County  Line  Road  and  built  a  spacious  brick  house  near  the  intersection 
of  Sixth  Street.  To  the  original  tract  additions  were  made,  and  Mr.  Freer 
spent  much  of  his  time  in  the  landscaping  and  improvement  of  these  prop- 
erties. The  Freer  children  are  Mrs.  Mabel  Dyas,  Mrs.  Margaret  Grulee,  Ray, 
Norman,  and  William.  Norman  B.  Freer  still  lives  in  Hinsdale,  at  645  Dale- 
wood  Lane.  The  original  Freer  homestead,  formerly  a  very  large  dwelling, 
has  been  remodelled  within  recent  years.  It  is  now  the  home  of  the  C.  D. 
Duncan  family. 

Adolph  Frosher  was  the  contractor  who  erected  The  Hinsdale  Club  and  other 
buildings.  He  built  and  lived  in  the  house  numbered  314  S.  Washington,  and 
was  the  father  of  John  Frosher.  His  daughter  married  R.  M.  Clubb. 

Benjamin  Fuller,  948  York  street.  This  house  is  said  to  have  been  Benjamin 
Fuller's  residence  from  the  time  he  built  it  during  the  latter  1830%  until  he 
died  in  1868. 

Morell  Fuller,  108  E.  Ogden  Avenue.  The  west  or  main  section  of  the  house 
is  the  original  building.  Its  antiquity  is  evident  on  the  inside  especially,  with 
its  low  ceilings  and  hand-formed  woodwork.  At  the  rear  of  the  house,  during 
the  1840's,  the  Fullers  operated  a  brick  yard  which  produced  the  bricks  for 
Graue's  mill. 

H.  A.  Fulton  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Hinsdale  Golf  Club.  The  Fulton 
home  is  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Washington  and  Ogden.  There  were  two 
sons  and  two  daughters. 

Henry  A.  Gardner.  The  old  Gardner  homestead,  a  massive  frame  structure 
with  out-buildings  and  an  enclosed  wind-mill  tower,  stood  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Maple  and  Madison.  Mr.  Gardner,  a  lawyer,  arrived  in  Hinsdale  in 
the  1880's.  He  was  a  staunch  member  of  the  Unitarian  Church.  Their  children 
were  Robert,  Sarah,  Henry,  Mary  and  Grace. 

William  P.  Gates  was  president  of  the  American  Terra  Cotta  Company.  He 
built  and  lived  in  the  terra  cotta  house  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Walnut  and 
Lincoln.  There  were  five  or  six  Gates  children. 

F.  H.  Hannah  was  one  of  the  first  purchasers  of  land  in  Hinsdale.  The  home  he 
built,  and  which  is  now  numbered  23  S.  Vine  St.,  later  became  known  as  the 
Beidler  place.  Mr.  A.  F.  Beidler  married  Mary  Hannah,  and  they  occupied 
this  house  until  well  into  the  present  century.  Francis  Beidler,  a  son,  is  now 
a  rancher  in  the  Southwest.  This  well-remembered  residence  now  is  a  Rest 
Home. 


130  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Dr.  L.  P.  Haskell,  121  E.  Fifth  Street,  was  for  years  a  leading  dentist  in  Chicago, 
known  for  his  ability  both  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  and  in  dental 
research.  He  was  also  active  in  Hinsdale  affairs;  social,  church,  and  civic. 

William  S.  Heineman  first  located  in  Fullersburg,  in  1875,  but  later  came  to 
Hinsdale  and  erected  the  Heineman  Building  on  the  northeast  corner  of 
First  and  Washington  (see  page  117)  where  he  conducted  a  store.  The  Heine- 
man  residence,  which  had  been  built  by  Harry  Maydwell,  still  stands,  at  214 
E.  Walnut.  Mr.  A.  T.  Hall,  a  pioneer  resident,  was  the  first  to  build  on  this 
lot.  His  house  burned.  Mrs.  Heineman  was  a  daughter  of  Barto  Van  Velzer, 
of  early  Fullersburg. 

John  Hemshell's  stone  house  on  the  north  side  of  Ogden,  on  the  western  edge 
of  Fullersburg,  is  interesting  because  of  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
was  built  during  the  1860's.  According  to  Mr.  T.  E.  Clark,  his  son-in-law, 
"Stone  for  the  house  was  hauled  from  quarries  at  Lemont,  and  this  required 
four  winters  with  a  team  and  sleigh.  The  lumber,  window  frames,  and  doors 
were  hauled  from  Chicago.  When  ready  to  build,  he  brought  water  from  Salt 
Creek  in  barrels  to  mix  the  mortar.  The  house  was  nearly  completed  in  1871, 
the  year  of  Chicago's  big  fire.  At  night  when  he  saw  Chicago  burning,  he 
climbed  up  on  the  unfinished  roof  to  watch  it."  Mr.  Hemshell  sent  to  England 
for  many  of  the  shrubs  that  are  still  growing  on  the  place.  Recently  the  house 
has  undergone  some  major  alterations. 

Dr.  John  B.  Hench,  Hinsdale's  widely  beloved  family  physician,  arrived  here 
before  1890  and  served  in  the  village  for  thirty  odd  years.  His  "sterling  traits 
of  character  made  him  well-liked  as  a  citizen."  Children  of  the  Henches  are 
Jay  L.  Hench,  of  324  E.  Seventh  street,  Horace  B.  Hench,  612  S.  Garfield,  and 
Helen,  Mrs.  Frank  Schaefer  of  Virginia.  Mrs.  John  B.  Hench  still  resides  at 
the  old  homestead  at  1 18  S.  Lincoln. 

L.  K.  Hildebrand  built  the  house  at  316  S.  Oak  Street.  The  Hildebrands  moved 
to  Hinsdale  in  1885  from  Chicago.  Mr.  Hildebrand  had  formerly  lived  at 
Sycamore,  Illinois.  Mrs.  Hildebrand  could  remember  that,  when  she  was  a 
child,  her  parents'  home  was  situated  on  land  that  later  became  the  site  of 
the  Palmer  House,  in  Chicago.  Their  daughter  Louise  is  Mrs.  Philip  R.  Clarke. 

William  S.  Hinckley.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hinckley,  with  their  son  William  and 
daughter  Bessie  came  here  from  Galesburg,  Illinois  in  1880.  One  of  their 
early  dwellings  was  on  the  site  of  the  late  Geo.  H.  Bell's  home  at  Park  and 
Third.  Miss  Bessie  Hinckley,  who  now  resides  at  King-Bruwaert  House, 
taught  at  the  Garfield  School  in  the  late  nineties,  and  can  name  many  middle- 
aged  citizens  as  having  been  among  her  students. 

William  B.  Hinckley,  son  of  William  S.  lived  for  a  while  at  316  E.  First,  the 
house  that  has  since  been  owned  by  the  Wade  Fetzers.  William  B.  was  the 
father  of  Brewster,  Harold,  Ned,  and  Jessie  Hinckley. 

George  W.  Hinckley,  a  brother  of  William  S.,  arrived  in  Hinsdale  in  about  the 
same  year,  and  built  his  dwelling  on  the  southwest  corner  of  First  and  Park. 
He  also  built  the  house  on  the  southeast  corner  of  First  and  Oak,  where  the 
M.  A.  Meyers  family  lived  for  so  long  a  time. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  131 

E.  P.  Hinds.  The  house  of  this  well-known  early  resident  was  on  the  site  of  the 
high  school.  It  was  moved  and,  is  now  (remodeled)  the  J.  S.  Lord  house,  at 
217  S.  Washington. 

W.  H.  Holcomb.  President  of  the  village  Board  of  Education  in  1897.  The 
Holcombs  occupied  the  house  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Third  and  Elm. 
They  are  survived  by  a  son  Herbert. 

Henry  Holverscheid,  a  coal  merchant,  came  here  from  Canada  and  lived  at 
319  E.  Third.  His  son  Harry  married  Lucy  Burton. 

Mrs.  Mary  Irish.  Built  the  house  at  the  N.  W.  corner  of  Third  and  Lincoln. 
Among  other  favorable  impressions,  Mrs.  Irish  is  remembered  for  her  three 
daughters,  Mrs.  Van  Inwagen,  Mrs.  Krohn,  and  Mary  Irish. 

Horace  Jackson.  Mr.  Jackson  was  the  builder,  and  he  and  his  family  the  first 
to  occupy  the  house  at  321  S.  County  Line  Rd.  The  Van  Inwagens  lived  there 
for  many  years,  and  the  house  now  is  owned  by  the  Foorman  Mueller  family. 
When  the  Jacksons  lived  there  the  place  was  called  "Royal  Oaks." 

Benjamin  F.  Jones.  His  house,  which  formerly  stood  at  Garfield  and  Second, 
was  later  moved  to  29  S.  Park.  Mr.  Jones  was  a  prisoner  of  the  Confederates 
at  Andersonville  during  the  Civil  War.  "Jones  hill,"  (the  S.  Garfield  St.  hill) 
was  a  favorite  for  coasting  in  the  winter,  a  pastime  that  is  now  hindered  by 
the  density  of  traffic.  Following  Benjamin  Jones,  the  H.  W.  Cowles  family 
lived  here. 

Charles  B.  Kimbell  built  the  house  at  224  N.  Elm  Street,  and  the  family  lived 
there  for  many  years.  Mr.  Kimbell  served  in  the  Civil  War,  and  was  later 
identified  with  the  stone  and  brick  industry  in  Chicago.  After  coming  to 
Hinsdale  in  1893  he  served  as  trustee  and  manager  of  several  large  estates,  and 
as  a  member  of  the  village  board.  The  Misses  Virginia  and  Mildred  Kimbell, 
granddaughters,  reside  on  north  Park  Ave.;  Charles,  a  grandson,  in  Phila- 
delphia. The  former  Kimbell  dwelling  now  is  owned  by  Mr.  E.  B.  Johnson. 

Sherman  King.  Judging  from  the  reported  activities  of  this  individual,  he  was 
a  most  useful  citizen  of  early  Brush  Hill.  He  built  his  house  on  the  east  side 
of  York  Road  just  south  of  the  creek.  The  original  foundation  is  still  there 
but  the  building  has  been  modernized. 

William  H.  Knight.  Mrs.  Knight  was  Belle  Robbins,  daughter  of  William 
Robbins.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knight  and  their  daughter  Glendora  lived  at  333  S. 
Park  Ave.  Glendora  married  Mr.  Courtney  D.  Freeman  of  Hinsdale. 

Harry  C.  Knisley,  manufacturer,  built  and  lived  at  234  E.  Third.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Knisley  were  married  in  Hinsdale  in  1889  and  lived  here  from  then  on.  Their 
daughters  are  Mrs.  Margaret  Abbott  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Drehr. 

W.  F.  Krohn  came  here  about  1890.  He  started  out  as  a  delivery  boy  and  became 
secretary  of  the  Central  Commercial  Company  in  Chicago.  His  son  Willard 
still  lives  here. 


132  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Chauncey  T.  Lamb  arrived  in  Hinsdale  in  the  go's  while  with  the  Curtiss 
Publishing  Company,  and  married  Mabel  Warren.  They  lived  at  121  S. 
County  Line  Road.  He  was  active  in  Boy  Scouts  and  the  Hinsdale  Club. 
Their  sons  are  Richard  and  David.  A  daughter,  Mrs.  Winfield  Foster,  lives  on 
South  Oak  Street. 

Dr.  Thomas  Lawton  graduated  from  the  Chicago  Homeopathic  Medical  Col- 
lege and  came  to  Hinsdale  in  1890.  Listed  as  "one  of  the  physicians  and  sur- 
geons who  has  become  eminent  in  Du  Page  County,"  Dr.  Lawton  and  his 
family  had  a  wide  circle  of  friends  in  Hinsdale,  where  they  were  always  active 
in  local  affairs.  Two  of  the  children,  Mrs.  Gertrude  Ketcham,  and  Mrs.  E.  B. 
Greek  still  live  in  Hinsdale. 

A.  A.  Lincoln.  This  family,  which  has  been  so  well  spoken  of  by  its  neighbors, 
lived  at  321  S.  Garfield  until  about  1920.  Formerly  there  was  a  private  green- 
house behind  the  dwelling.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  president  of  the  David  B.  Crocket 
Company,  paint  and  varnish  manufacturers. 

T.  H.  Linsley  arrived  in  Hinsdale  in  1889,  and  formed  a  partnership  with  E. 
H.  Ditzler  in  the  grocery  business.  The  Linsleys  lived  at  323  S.  Washington. 
Robert  Linsley,  a  son,  has  moved  to  Traverse  City,  Michigan. 

William  McCredie,  dwelt  at  the  S.  E.  corner  of  Walnut  and  Park,  in  one  of  the 
first  houses  to  be  built  on  the  north  side.  Mr.  McCredie  was  father  of  Mrs. 
Jeane  Matile  who  still  lives  in  the  house.  He  was  a  signer  of  the  petition  for 
incorporation  of  the  village. 

Dr.  J.  C.  Merrick  is  remembered  as  Hinsdale's  first  physician  and  first  druggist. 
At  one  time  he  lived  over  his  office  and  store  on  the  east  side  of  the  Washing- 
ton Street  business  district,  and  later  at  323  S.  Washington,  before  the  Linsleys 
moved  there. 

John  C.  F.  Merrill  whose  house  still  stands  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Sixth 
and  Elm,  was  President  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade  and  President  of  the 
village  for  several  terms,  starting  in  1894.  Many  municipal  improvements 
were  made  during  his  terms  of  office.  His  children  were  Charlotte  and  Ralph. 

George  H.  Mitchell,  identified  with  the  building  stone  industry  in  Chicago, 
built  the  house  on  the  southwest  corner  of  First  and  Elm  in  the  90's.  The 
Mitchells  had  two  daughters,  Marion  and  Louise.  The  house  is  now  owned 
by  Mrs.  Perry  Phelps. 

J.  P.  Mohr  was  one  of  the  many  owners  of  the  old  cross-roads  store,  at  the  north- 
east corner  of  Ogden  and  York,  that  served  Fullersburg  through  the  cracker- 
barrel  era,  and  well  into  the  twenties.  Mr.  Mohr  was  a  Civil  War  veteran.  His 
later  years  were  spent  in  Hinsdale.  The  site  of  his  store,  at  present,  is  a  used 
car  lot. 

L.  C.  Newell  erected  the  house  at  526  N.  Washington  in  1894.  He,  A.  H.  Fulton 
and  a  few  other  neighbors  began  playing  golf  on  a  crude  home-made  course 
west  of  Burns  field  in  that  year.  This  group  was  the  nucleus  of  the  Hinsdale 
Golf  Club. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA 


33 


Walnut  Street  before  it  was  paved,  looking  west  from  the  sanitarium. 


George  W.  Noble  232  N.  Lincoln.  After  trying  the  state  of  Texas,  Mr.  Noble 
returned  north  and  settled  in  Hinsdale,  in  the  year  1889.  He  was  General 
Manager  of  A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co.,  in  Chicago,  and  had  a  strong  leaning 
toward  baseball.  The  Noble  children:  Jansen,  George  Jr.,  Howard,  Sadie, 
Ray,  and  Herbert. 

William  Ostrum.  544  N.  Washington.  Mr.  Ostrum  arrived  in  Fullersburg  from 
Germany  in  1869.  A  mason  contractor,  he  built  this  house  and  various  other 
Hinsdale  dwellings  and  commercial  buildings.  The  Ostrums  had  four  daugh- 
ters: Emma,  Selma,  Martha,  Clara,  and  Minna,  and  a  son  George. 

P.  P.  Pascall  built  the  house  at  106  E.  Eighth  street,  later  occupied  by  his 
niece  C.  Gertrude  Pulver.  The  present  owner  is  Mr.  Walter  M.  Sheldon. 

Alfred  Payne  lived  in  Hinsdale  from  1874  to  1900.  His  house  was  situated  east 
of  Oak  Street,  between  seventh  and  eighth.  After  it  burned,  Mr.  Payne  moved 
to  the  old  Marvin  Fox  house  at  Ogden  and  Lincoln.  Mr.  Payne  was  a  portrait 
painter. 

A.  L.  Pearsall.  120  E.  Fifth.  In  1863  Mr.  William  Robbins  erected  this  house 
as  his  temporary  residence.  Mr.  Pearsall  was  in  the  real  estate  business  and  was 
Hinsdale's  sixth  Postmaster. 

D.  K.  Pearsons,  122  N.  Grant.  See  page  141. 


i34  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

D.  L.  Perry.  138  E.  Maple.  He  was  Village  President  in  1882,  and  a  signer  of  the 
petition  for  incorporation.  The  Perrys  moved  several  times  within  the  village. 
The  Perrys  were  gracious  hosts  to  various  newcomers  who  temporarily  resided 
with  them  while  looking  for  homes  of  their  own. 

D.  H.  Preston  lived  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Third  and  Park,  where  the  family 
resided  for  such  a  long  time,  and  where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  A.  Brinkman  now 
live.  Mr.  Preston  helped  to  organize  the  Public  Library  and  was  identified 
with  a  number  of  village  activities,  including  the  presidency  of  the  Hinsdale 
State  Bank. 

A.  Pugh,  516  W.  Maple,  was  President  of  the  Village  in  1880. 

M.  L.  Raftree  built  the  large  residence  on  the  west  side  of  Stough  Street  a  little 
north  of  the  railroad.  Mr.  Raftree's  colorful  career  in  the  practice  of  law  has 
been  the  source  of  many  pleasurable  anecdotes  concerning  his  appearances 
before  juries  and  public  gatherings. 

Lake  Ransom,  428  S.  Lincoln.  Subject  of  "The  Hinsdale  Tragedy"  (Page  103) . 

C.  E.  Raymond  was  appointed  food  administrator  during  World  War  I,  was 
president  of  Chicago's  First  National  Bank,  and  a  good  golfer.  Mrs.  Raymond 
was  a  sister  of  Chauncey  T.  Lamb.  Their  former  home  is  numbered  425  E. 
Third. 

Alanson  Reed  built  one  of  the  first  of  the  houses  that  were  so  often  referred  to 
by  early  reporters  as  "elegant  estates."  The  Reed  family  manufactured  musi- 
cal instruments  in  Chicago.  The  house  stands  north  of  the  Highlands  station, 
a  little  to  the  west.  The  house  of  his  son,  John  W.  Reed  stood  on  the  site  of 
the  Sanitarium,  and  was  later  owned  by  Judge  Beckwith.  Eventually  it  was  in- 
corporated within  the  frame  portion  of  the  sanitarium  building. 

J.  D.  Richardson,  president  of  the  National  Biscuit  Company,  lived  at  202  E. 
Fourth,  and  later  on  Woodside  Drive.  It  is  said  that  a  member  of  the  Richard- 
son family  designed  that  familiar  National  Biscuit  trade-mark. 

Bruce  E.  Richie,  S.  W.  corner  of  Park  and  Third,  was  a  well-known  insurance 
man.  Mrs.  Richie  is  a  daughter  of  John  W.  Reed.  She  lives  at  134  E.  Maple. 
A  son,  Clark  B.  Richie,  lives  in  Elmhurst. 

George  B.  Robbins,  brother  of  William  Robbins,  built  the  house  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  Washington  and  Third.  He  was  president  of  the  Armour  Car 
Lines.  Later,  this  was  to  be  the  temporary  home  of  F.  S.  Peabody,  president  of 
the  Peabody  Coal  Company,  whose  Mays  Lake  estate  was  bequeathed  to  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  is  now  Saint  Francis  Retreat.  Another  prominent  man, 
one  who  lived  in  this  house  some  years  later,  was  Alexander  Legge,  president 
of  International  Harvester  Company.  During  most  of  Mr.  Legge's  career  he 
lived  elsewhere,  but  while  in  Hinsdale  he  was  appointed  chairman  of  the 
Federal  Farm  Board,  and  President  Hoover  visited  him  at  this  address  on  one 
or  two  occasions.  The  Katherine  Legge  Memorial  on  south  County  Line 
Road,  established  for  the  benefit  of  Harvester  Company  employees,  and  the 
Farm  Foundation,  for  research  in  the  field  of  agriculture,  are  among  Mr. 
Legge's  contributions  to  society. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  135 

William  Robbins,  425  E.  Sixth  street.  See  page  76,  and  other  references  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Robbins  in  Chapter  VI  and  elsewhere. 

A.  R.  Robinson,  a  well-remembered  principal  of  the  Hinsdale  schools  lived  at 
505  S.  Garfield.  His  daughter,  Mabel  R.  Gifford  is  a  resident  of  King-Brwaert 
House.  He  married  Jennie  Pearsall. 

John  C.  Ross.  The  old  Ross  home  formerly  occupied  the  area  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  Oak  and  Fourth.  Years  later  it  was  moved  to  836  S.  County  Line  Rd. 
Mr.  Ross  was  a  member  of  Chicago's  Board  of  Trade,  and  one  of  those  who 
helped  build  Hinsdale.  Edith,  Harry,  Agard,  and  Alice  are  the  Ross  children. 

David  Roth,  222  E.  Chicago  Ave.,  "a  kindly  neighbor."  When  the  Roth  family 
built  this  place  it  comprised  several  acres.  A  son  Frank  is  still  living.  Mrs.  Ray 
Noble  and  Syrena  Roth  are  granddaughters. 

John  F.  Ruchty,  hotel  proprietor  and  merchant,  came  to  Fullersburg  soon  after 
the  town  had  acquired  that  name,  and  built  the  house  numbered  815  York 
Street.  His  son  George  E.  Ruchty  lives  at  214  N.  Washington. 

Linus  C.  Ruth,  S.  W.  corner  of  Fourth  and  Washington,  was  Judge  of  the 
Du  Page  County  Court,  Circuit  Judge,  and  the  first  village  attorney.  Mrs. 
Ruth  was  Librarian  for  a  long  term.  Their  son  Chester  still  lives  in  Hinsdale. 
Linus,  Jr.,  lost  his  life  in  the  war  of  1917-18. 

James  S.  Shannon,  304  S.  Lincoln,  a  builder.  He  erected  many  of  the  houses  on 
Third,  and  on  Lincoln. 

Robert  S.  Slocum,  605  S.  Garfield.  His  great  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Forrest 
Mann,  resides  on  Sixth  street.  Mr.  Slocum  signed  the  petition  for  village 
incorporation. 

O.  J.  Stough's  house  was  small  but  it  was  surrounded  by  an  entire  block  of  land, 
on  which  fruit  trees,  grape  vines,  and  evergreens  were  planted.  Later,  D.  K. 
Pearsons  built  his  house  on  the  same  site,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Grant  Street 
hill.  Mr.  Stough's  dwelling  was  moved  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Hickory  and 
Grant.  It  has  been  enlarged. 

James  F.  Stuart,  317  S.  Park.  The  Stuarts  were  here  a  long  time  and  were  stead- 
fast members  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  an  official  of  one  of  the  nation- 
wide express  companies,  before  they  were  consolidated. 

James  Swartout,  30  E.  Fifth,  one  of  the  first  "settlers."  This  was  either  the 
second  or  third  house  to  be  built  on  the  south  side. 

Carl  Thayer  lived  at  30  E.  Fifth,  following  the  Swartouts.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trade. 

Joel  Tiffany,  the  first  village  President,  arrived  here  in  1870  from  the  East 
where  he  had  been  an  active  lawyer  and  author  of  several  works,  including 
Man  and  His  Destiny,  Government  and  Constitutional  Law,  and  A  Treatise 
on  Trusts  &  Trustees.  In  addition  he  was  an  inventor,  in  the  field  of  refrigera- 
tion. His  residence  in  Hinsdale  was  marked  by  an  active  interest  in  local 


\    c  Eighth  Grade,  >    / 


-xei 

Glass  of  '93, 


JURE8HWP, 


J.    N.   KELLY,   Sup1t. 

Nellie  M.  Boyd,  Teacher. 


:' 


FEOGfi/tMMe.. 


Work  Wins. 


PIANO  OCTET*  •  Salop Brlliiaote,       -  .       8p»nik>tte 

MISSE*  XKf-UE  C1.ARKE  A»B  BOTH   FATEBWKATHEK, 


PRAYER, 

ESSAY, 
RECITATION, 
ESSAY,  • 
VIOLIN  SOLO, 
ESSAY, 
RECITATION, 
ESSAY, 
PIANO  SOLO, 


K&mw  utshow 
1th  Air  Va,rf*5,    - 

JOHDON   K.   «*8tfiHT, 

,roHsr  stsebt » 

AtiiKKT  wfjU?. 
WP,f*f8  lAmhUY. 

"La  So  woe." 

M4BEI,   EPWA80S. 


Jim.  A,  W.  Gx'tW 

The  Legewt  vf  Kalrnkm 
Samti  Fmwim  BttmZurm 

A  Street  Se^m 

.  Flytng  Machine* 

Bkmmthal 


Program  of  the  eighth  grade  graduation  exercises,  1893. 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA  137 

improvement  and  progress.  His  grand-daughter,  Mrs.  L.  M.  Fee,  the  former 
Louise  M.  Tryon,  now  lives  at  the  Godair  Home.  The  Tiffanys  built  the 
house  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Washington  and  Walnut.  It  has  been  re- 
modeled over  the  years. 

Homer  B.  Vanderblue,  1 18  W.  Third  street.  After  Mr.  Vanderblue  left  here  he 
became  dean  of  the  Northwestern  University  School  of  Commerce. 

James  Van  Inwagen,  a  prominent  Chicago  business  man,  occupied  the  old  Joel 
Tiffany  house  at  Walnut  and  Washington. 

Dr.  F.  H.  Van  Liew,  who  lived  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Walnut  and  Washing- 
ton, came  to  Hinsdale  in  1882.  Dr.  Van  Liew  was  a  well-versed  homeopathic 
physician  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Unitarian  Church.  His  daughters, 
Gertrude  and  Helen,  reside  at  240  E.  Walnut. 

Barto  Van  Velzer,  keeper  of  the  toll  gate  in  early  Brush  Hill,  lived  with  his 
family  in  the  toll  gate  house,  now  numbered  225  E.  Ogden  Ave. 

A.  E.  Walker,  639  S.  Garfield.  An  active,  energetic  family.  The  children  are 
Ned,  Lulu  Belle,  Aldis,  Julia,  Robert  and  Walter. 

Alfred  L.  Walker.  See  page  56. 

H.  K.  Walker,  came  to  Hinsdale  in  the  8o's  and  lived  at  425  S.  Garfield. 

C.  C.  Warren,  115  E.  Maple,  was  village  president  in  1881.  He  and  C.  T. 
Warren  were  among  the  founders  of  the  Unitarian  Church. 

C.  T.  Warren,  father  of  Mrs.  Chauncey  T.  Lamb,  owned  the  house  that  was 
later  to  be  torn  down  to  make  way  for  the  Memorial  Building. 

N.  H.  Warren,  125  E.  Maple  was  the  father  of  Ella  and  Alice. 

The  three  Warrens  were  brothers,  and  partners  in  the  grain  brokerage  firm 
of  N.  H.  Warren  8c  Co.,  Chicago.  They  moved  to  Hinsdale  in  the  1870's  and 
had  a  prominent  part  in  the  shaping  of  the  village  during  its  formative  years. 

The  homes  of  C.  C.  Warren  and  N.  H.  Warren  on  Maple  Street  were  next 
door  to  each  other.  On  more  than  one  occasion  in  the  summer  time  the 
brothers  installed  a  large  wooden  platform,  sheltered  by  a  huge  canopy, 
between  the  two  houses  and  invited  their  neighbors  to  dance.  The  guests 
could  pass  from  one  house,  across  the  dance  floor,  to  the  other. 

Ella  Warren  taught  dancing  in  the  old  Baptist  Church.  Miss  Alice  Warren 
now  lives  at  115  N.  Park  Ave.;  Mrs.  C.  T.  Lamb  at  504  S.  Garfield. 

C.  L.  Washburn,  of  the  firm  of  Bassett  &  Washburn,  occupied  the  stone  house  at 
425  E.  Sixth  street,  the  one  built  by  William  Robbins  in  the  6o's.  The  Bassett 
Sc  Washburn  greenhouse,  or  one  of  them,  was  on  the  west  side  of  County 
Line  Road,  between  Sixth  and  Seventh. 

John  Webster,  S.  E.  corner  of  Lincoln  and  Second.  This  family  arrived  shortly 
after  William  Robbins  and  the  Swartouts.  They  operated  an  express  and 
delivery  business  in  the  early  days.  Roy  and  Nelson  were  Mr.  Webster's  sons. 
Nelson  served  as  Wm.  Evernden's  chief  clerk  for  a  long  time. 


i38 


VILLAGE   ON    THE   COUNTY  LINE 


The  Grant  Street  hill. 


Adolph  Weidig  was  Assistant  Conductor  of  the  Chicago  Symphony  orchestra 
under  Theodore  Thomas.  The  Veidigs  occupied  the  house  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Elm  and  Walnut,  the  one  that  faces  southeast. 

George  Wilson,  130  E.  First  street.  Mr.  Wilson  was  a  surveyor.  His  daughters 
were  Adelaide  and  Mary.  Adelaide  Wilson  Slade  is  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Norman 
B.  Freer. 

Reverend  George  Wilson  became  minister  of  the  Congregational  Church  dur- 
ing the  early  go's,  and  lived  at  644  S.  Garfield.  Present  relatives  are  George 
W.,  a  grandson,  and  Mrs.  Clifford  Pratt. 

T.  J.  Woodcock,  N.  W.  corner  Fourth  and  Washington,  was  here  in  the  8o's. 
Sadie  Woodcock,  a  daughter,  married  George  Barker. 


There  are  other  early  houses  that  have  not  burned  or  been  dis- 
mantled, but  most  of  those  listed  are  representative  of  the  period  before 
1 895.  Many  of  them  have  been  remodeled;  some  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  no  longer  look  old. 

There  have  been  various  blacksmith  shops,  in  the  village;  those  of 
Lewis,  French,  Schreiber,  and  others.  The  one  remaining,  operated  by 


THE  ELEGANT  ERA 


139 


The  Park  Hotel. 

Frank  Hauser  on  Village  Place,  occupies  a  remnant  of  the  old  Roth 
building  which  probably  was  the  first  commercial  building  in  Hins- 
dale. It  stood  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Washington  and  Hinsdale 
Ave.  The  Park  Hotel  was  north  of  the  old  station,  and  the  village  pump 
was  about  in  the  middle  of  Washington  street,  in  front  of  the  hotel.  At 
the  curb  was  a  watering  trough  for  horses.  The  trough  is  still  there. 

In  1898  the  Burlington  decided  to  build  a  new  Hinsdale  station, 
and  a  drawing  of  the  proposed  building  was  published  in  The  Doings. 
A  year  later  this  building  was  completed,  whereupon  the  old  depot, 
which  had  served  as  the  town's  early  meeting  hall,  began  its  long  term 
of  service  as  the  freight  house. 


As  the  century  drew  to  a  close,  marking  the  thirty-fifth  year  since  the 
railroad  gave  impetus  to  the  building  of  a  village  on  these  rolling  acres, 
new  fine  homes  were  still  being  added,  such  as  Mr.  Bassett's  and  Mr. 
Coffeen's.  The  population  had  reached  2,500;  fires,  and  burglaries  in 
the  village  were  frequent;  skating  and  fishing  on  Salt  Creek  were  in 


140  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

their  hey-day;  a  hundred  telephones  had  been  attached  to  hall  and 
living  room  walls;  "talking  machines"  and  cameras  had  arrived,  and 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  discussion  concerning  the  capabilities  of 
automobiles,  and  of  Teddy  Roosevelt. 

Aside  from  social  affairs,  the  first  thirty-five  years,  and  especially 
the  decade  of  the  nineties,  were  marked  chiefly  by  the  rapidity  of  village 
growth,  and  of  municipal  improvements.  Subdivisions  of  land  were 
frequent,  and  toward  the  end  of  the  century,  contracts  often  were  let 
for  the  building  of  dozens  of  homes  at  a  time.  This  construction  work 
had  to  be  accompanied  by  the  installation  of  new  paving  and  other 
facilities,  so  the  Village  Board  was  kept  as  busy  as  the  contractors,  and 
at  times,  was  hard  pressed  to  keep  up  with  the  requirements  of  such 
rapid  expansion.  In  population  growth,  the  infant  Hinsdale  had  far 
exceeded  its  older  neighbors,  Fullersburg,  Lyonsville,  and  Cass. 


chapter  viii  From  1900  Onward 


AS  A  new  century  opened,  amid  a  blast  of  whistles  that  were  louder 
k.  and  longer  than  those  of  the  ordinary  new  year  observance, 
Hinsdale  shook  off  the  few  remaining  aspects  of  a  country  town,  and 
became  a  suburb  of  a  large  city.  Farmers  still  came  to  the  village  for 
supplies  on  Saturdays,  and  many  of  the  roads  leading  to  town  were  still 
of  the  dirt  variety.  But  the  "general"  stores  were  disappearing,  the 
hotel  had  gone,  and  the  village  no  longer  was  a  shipping  point  for  hay 
and  cattle.  Rural  delivery  of  mail  had  been  inaugurated,  and  more 
Chicago  business  men  were  moving  this  way. 

One  of  these,  a  man  of  wide  reputation,  was  Daniel  K.  Pearsons. 
His  career  is  interesting  to  Hinsdaleans,  for  although  he  lived  here 
only  for  a  part  of  his  long  and  useful  life,  his  numerous  philanthropies 
brought  him  into  national  prominence,  and  his  former  residence  at 
122  North  Grant  Street  is  one  of  our  best  known  landmarks. 

After  studying  medicine  at  Woodstock,  Vermont,  the  State  of  his 
birth,  he  practiced  medicine  in  New  York  state  until  a  desire  to  travel 
led  him  to  sell  his  practice,  and  to  go  to  Europe.  Upon  returning,  he 
located  in  Tennessee  and  lectured  at  various  southern  schools  and 
colleges.  Later,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Pearsons  moved  to  Ogle  County,  Illinois, 
where  the  doctor  became  a  farmer.  But  his  interest  in  farming  gave 
way  to  a  greater  fascination  that  he  found  in  the  buying  and  selling  of 
real  estate;  so  in  i860  he  left  the  farm  and  moved  to  Chicago. 

Here,  during  that  era  of  westward  expansion,  he  became  a  success- 
ful land  broker,  acquiring  a  fortune  during  the  following  decade, 
which  enabled  him  to  launch  into  various  enterprises  that  brought  him 
immense  wealth.  During  the  1880's,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Pearsons  moved  to 
Hinsdale,  and  it  was  while  residing  here  that  he  disposed  of  the  greater 
part  of  his  huge  fortune,  for  the  benefit  of  various  institutions;  artistic, 
religious,  and  educational. 

In  1905  a  reporter  for  the  Chicago  Tribune  asked  Dr.  Pearsons  to 
comment  on  the  subject  of  tainted  money.  "Tainted  money?"  said  the 
old  gentleman,  "to  the  popular  mind,  excited  just  now  by  socialistic 
out-cries,  there  is  no  wealth  that  is  untainted." 

141 


142  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Continues  the  report:  "The  philanthropist  and  'patron  saint  of 
small  colleges'  chuckled  as  he  gazed  at  a  newspaper  clipping  telling  of 
his  timorous  offering  of  $50,000  to  the  board  of  missions  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church  in  which  he  cautiously  requested  an  opinion  as  to  the 
possibility  of  'taint'  in  the  donation." 

Dr.  Pearsons  gave  only  to  worthy  causes  and  his  benefactions  were 
numerous.  He  bequeathed  his  home  and  grounds  to  the  Public  Li- 
brary. As  its  present  quarters  become  crowded,  the  Library  Board  looks 
forward  to  the  day  when  it  can  make  some  use  of  this  bequest. 

All  those  who  bought  property  here  could  not  pay  for  it  in  one 
lump  sum,  and  it  was  not  always  convenient  to  do  the  financing 
through  Chicago  mortgage  houses,  so  a  group  of  men  in  town,  which 
included  the  names  of  Bohlander,  Duncan  and  Frosher,  loaned  money 
to  help  the  new-comers  buy  lots.  It  was  natural  for  this  activity  to 
develop  into  the  Hinsdale  Building  &  Loan  Association,  which  flour- 
ished until  1902  when  the  Association  was  voluntarily  liquidated  in 
favor  of  a  bank,  which  would  carry  on  the  real  estate  loan  business  and 
offer  general  banking  facilities  as  well.  After  consideration  and  rejec- 
tion of  a  proposal  to  estabish  a  branch  of  the  Downers  Grove  bank  here, 
the  Hinsdale  State  Bank  came  into  being,  in  May,  1902,  with  Thomas 
P.  Phillips  as  its  first  president. 

Of  the  period  now  being  reviewed  Otis  R.  Cushing  has  furnished 
many  absorbing  anecdotes,  and  these  are  doubly  interesting  because 
they  relate  to  events  in  some  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  participants: 

"Many  a  youngster  wonders  what  we  did  for  amusement  at  the  turn  of  the 
century.  There  were  no  movies  and  few  automobiles,  but  we  generally  managed 
to  keep  rather  busy  and  had  a  good  time  doing  it  as  well. 

"When  near  summer  weather  arrived,  we  longed  for  that  3:30  dismissal  bell, 
and  often,  as  soon  as  school  was  out,  we  started  in  the  direction  of  Salt  Creek, 
over  the  hill  on  North  Washington,  after  crossing  Ogden,  and  to  what  is  now 
the  entrance  to  the  Forest  Preserve,  where  we  followed  the  cow  path  through  the 
woods  past  the  Coffin  cabin  to  the  old  Mud  Hole  where  most  of  Hinsdale's 
oldsters  learned  the  art  of  swimming. 

"In  those  days  the  boats  were  rented  from  Mr.  Graue  just  above  the  dam  and 
when  a  boat  rounded  the  bend  it  was  up  to  us  to  be  ready  to  duck,  as  we  knew 
not  bathing  suits. 

"Sometimes  we  would  stop  at  the  Ruchty  Bros,  ice  house  which  stood  at  the 
north  end  of  Washington  Street,  and  play  around  in  the  sawdust  that  kept  the 
ice  from  melting.  Hinsdale  and  other  towns  relied  on  the  Ruchtys  for  their  ice, 
delivered  in  large  horse-drawn  wagons  with  a  rear  step  that  made  it  easy  to  hop 
on  and  grab  a  small  piece  to  refresh  one's  self  on  a  hot  day.  There  was  a 


FROM   ipoo   ONWARD  143 

mysterious  atmosphere  there  too,  for  Louie  lived  in  a  dugout  in  the  woods  across 
the  road  from  the  ice  house.  (Louie  was  an  unfortunate  fellow  who  aroused  awe 
and  speculation  among  the  youngsters  of  the  neighborhood.  Many  are  the 
legends  concerning  this  individual,  who  is  said  to  have  been  related  to  German 
Royalty.  Those  who  knew  him  when  he  lived  in  the  cave  near  the  creek  recall 
his  ability  to  speak  several  languages,  and  his  working  at  odd  jobs  in  the  vicinity. 
Remembered  also  is  the  New  Testament  he  carried  in  one  hip  pocket,  often 
accompanied  by  a  half-pint  of  whiskey  in  the  other.)  It  was  fun  watching  them 
cut  the  ice  in  the  winter.  It  was  done  with  a  long  hand  saw.  First  they  would 
saw  a  channel  for  maybe  half  a  mile  up  stream,  and  then  start  cutting  the  cakes, 
floating  them  down  this  channel  which  ended  at  the  slide  that  led  to  the  ice 
house  door.  Many  of  the  boys  on  skates  were  pleased  to  be  allowed  to  take  a 
pike  pole  to  help  hurry  the  ice  down  the  channel  toward  its  destination.  They 
did  it  for  the  fun  of  it;  which  was  probably  one  of  the  reasons  Ruchty's  ice 
was  reasonable  in  price." 

When  John  Schmidt  of  Fullersburg  was  nine,  back  in  the  1870's,  a 
fish  ran  away  with  his  line  and  pole.  He  finally  caught  up  with  it, 
hauled  it  out,  and  it  was  found  to  weigh  over  eleven  pounds.  Years 
later,  George  Coffin  caught  one  that  tipped  the  scales  at  thirteen 
pounds.  This  probably  is  the  largest  known  catch  from  Salt  Creek. 
Both  fish  are  said  to  have  been  pickerel. 

One-ring  circuses  and  gypsy  caravans  are  other  things  that  amused 
the  youngsters  of  yesteryear.  When  a  circus  was  coming,  the  news  got 
around.  No  cajolery  was  needed  to  get  certain  lads  up  before  the  sun, 
to  help  raise  the  tent,  water  the  elephants,  and  get  a  free  ticket.  Small 
circuses  have  performed  in  Hinsdale  on  the  northeast  corner  of  First 
and  Garfield,  on  the  area  that  is  now  Burns  Field,  and  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Chicago  Ave.  and  Grant  Street.  The  last  circus  to  appear  in 
Hinsdale  was  on  the  Grant  St.  lot,  about  1910. 

The  long  rumored  electric  railroad  that  might  have  come  through 
here,  finally  revealed  itself  as  the  Chicago,  Aurora  and  Elgin,  which 
ultimately  built  through  Elmhurst  and  Glen  Ellyn  instead.  But  later 
on,  there  was  another  rumor  of  a  coming  electric  line  to  be  extended 
westward  from  La  Grange.  It,  too,  came  to  naught. 

Since  the  i88o's  Hinsdale  has  had  a  Board  of  Local  Improvements 
that  makes  recommendations  to  the  Village  Board  concerning  the 
betterment  of  municipal  facilities.  In  1904  it  recommended  the  instal- 
lation of  20  miles  of  new  sidewalks,  to  replace  old  board  walks,  one  of 
the  most  comprehensive  pieces  of  new  paving  undertaken  up  to  that 
time.  The  suggestion  was  approved  by  the  Trustees,  in  the  amount  of 
$70,000  for  the  new  walks. 


144  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Most  Hinsdaleans  have  looked  upon  the  squirrels  in  the  village  as 
being  the  natural  descendants  of  those  that  scampered  among  the  trees 
before  the  village  was  here.  That  is  a  nice  thought,  and  it  comes  as  a 
surprise  to  learn  that  some  of  them  at  least  were  "planted."  In  a  1904 
issue  of  The  Doings  we  learn  that  a  nature-loving  citizen,  through 
public  subscription,  brought  60  pairs  of  squirrels  here  and  let  them 
loose. 

Years  before  this  time,  the  machine  age  had  invaded  America's 
factories  and  transportation  facilities,  and  now  its  effects  were  becom- 
ing increasingly  apparent  in  the  home  with  steam,  electricity,  the 
internal  combustion  engine,  and  gas.  These  four  sources  of  power, 
heat,  light,  and  other  conveniences  were  making  themselves  felt  in  all 
Hinsdale  homes. 

First,  there  was  a  water-pumping  station,  with  the  tall  cylindrical 
tower  atop  the  Garfield  hill,  from  which  water  was  distributed 
throughout  the  town  at  sufficient  pressure.  It  was  "hard"  water  for  the 
first  forty  years,  until  the  softening  plant  was  installed,  but  the  village 
water  could  be  supplemented  by  that  from  the  cisterns.  Next,  came  the 
electric  light,  and  shortly  there-after,  a  gas  main  was  laid  from  Aurora 
to  most  of  the  western  suburbs.  Kitchen  stoves  no  longer  needed  to  rely 
on  wood  or  coal,  and  hot  water  was  easier  to  prepare.  The  electric 
current  has  had  so  many  applications,  and  the  end  is  not  in  sight.  Tele- 
phones were  next,  to  be  followed  by  the  automobile. 

Early  owners  of  automobiles  in  Hinsdale  were  the  Melchers  who 
drove  a  Franklin  car  having  a  four-cylinder  engine  mounted  trans- 
versely, with  a  long  chain  to  the  rear  axle,  and  a  tonneau  that  opened 
at  the  back,  with  a  small  step  below  the  door.  At  about  the  same  time, 
Lafayette  Briggs  had  a  White  Steamer,  which  burned  in  1905.  Heman 
Fox  drove  a  one-cylinder  Cadillac.  A  few  years  later  A.  E.  Keith  bought 
a  large  green  6-cylinder  Stevens  Duryea.  Paul  Butler's  first  car  was  an 
Orient  Buckboard,  to  be  followed  by  a  two  cylinder  Buick.  Charles  A. 
Brown  glided  past  in  his  gently  puffing  Stanley  Steamer,  or  in  his 
experimental  Owen  Magnetic.  There  were  a  few  other  cars  in  those 
days,  among  them  a  two-cylinder  Maxwell,  a  Chalmers,  another  Frank- 
lin, one  or  two  electrics,  and  the  under-slung  American  roadster  owned 
by  the  McCurdy  girls. 

Most  of  these  were  open  cars,  with  two-man  tops.  To  close  them 
against  the  rain,  out  came  the  side  curtains,  to  be  tediously  fastened, 


FROM   i9oo   ONWARD  145 

button  by  button.  The  gasoline  tank  was  filled  by  first  removing  the 
front  seat  cushion,  and  then  placing  a  funnel  in  the  tank  opening.  A 
chamois  skin  covered  the  funnel  to  filter  the  water  out  of  the  gasoline. 
These  cars  had  large  sheet  metal  "dustpans"  under  them,  but  the  pans 
failed  to  keep  out  the  dust.  Tires  were  guaranteed  for  3,000  miles,  but 
this  was  later  increased  to  5,000. 

The  Doings  had  this  to  say  in  1906  about  2  'reliability  run"  spon- 
sored by  the  Chicago  Automobile  Club,  and  which  passed  through 
here:  "Many  Hinsdaleans  watched  the  horseless  caravan,  and  few  in- 
deed envied  the  travel-stained,  dustcovered,  mud-bespattered  occu- 
pants of  the  cars."  The  course  was  from  Chicago  to  Elgin,  to  Aurora 
and  return,  the  same  "Century"  tour  that  the  bicyclists  used  to  make. 

Bill  Evernden  and  his  drug  store  recall  nostalgic  memories  to  many 
a  Hinsdalean  who  was  in  his  teens  early  in  the  century.  Here,  let  Otis 
Cushing  tell  of  that  well-remembered  individual: 

"William  Evernden,  who  must  have  come  here  in  the  70%  and  who  was  known 
as  'Bill'  to  the  young  and  old  alike,  was  an  early  Hinsdale  druggist,  and  was 
particularly  a  friend  of  the  boys.  Many  a  time  he  gave  fatherly  advice  to  the  high 
school  lad,  pointing  out  the  right  direction  if  necessary,  and  he  always  treated 
their  confidences  as  only  Bill  could  and  would.  Any  of  the  boys  knew  where  they 
could  unburden  their  souls.  Some  of  the  people  spoke  of  the  store  as  Bill's  church. 
"Once  he  decided  that  there  were  too  many  boys  hanging  around  the  store 
and  that  they  would  have  to  go,  as  someone  had  carefully  informed  him  that  it 
was  hurting  his  business.  It  was  not  until  the  next  day  that  he  decided  that  the 
boys  meant  more  to  him  than  the  extra  bit  of  trade— and— he  never  parted  with 
them  again." 

A  noteworthy  sequel  to  that  phase  of  Bill  Evernden's  career  in 
Hinsdale  is  the  present-day  concession  on  the  part  of  several  of  his 
former  confiders,  men  now  of  middle  age  and  beyond,  that  Bill's  advice 
was  sound,  and  that  it  helped  them  to  clear  some  of  life's  rough  spots; 
then,  and  later. 

The  manufacturing  industry  has  never  obtained  a  sure  footing  in 
or  near  this  mecca  of  homes  and  gardens.  The  Elgin  National  Watch 
Company  surveyed  a  site  near  Hinsdale,  but  eventually  decided  on 
Elgin.  Over  the  years,  a  few  small  manufactories  have  attempted  to 
establish  themselves  in  the  village.  In  the  nineties  there  was  a  manu- 
facturer of  textile  belts  for  industrial  pulleys.  There  was  the  Hinsdale 
Bottling  Works,  that  distilled  and  distributed  water,  and  one  or  two 
other  small  enterprises,  but  none  of  them  lasted.  The  only  activity 


146  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

approaching  the  description  of  a  process  industry  that  has  flourished 
in  Hinsdale  is  the  laundry.  It  goes  on  and  on. 

The  flower-growing  industry  has  prospered,  and  Mr.  Cushing  tells 
of  this  historic  example,  an  industry  which  began  as  a  hobby: 

"In  1887,  when  the  O.  P.  Bassett  and  C.  L.  Washburn  families  moved  to  Hins- 
dale, they  decided  to  build  a  dome-shaped  greenhouse  with  a  fish  pond  in  the 
center,  on  the  south  side  of  Sixth  street  across  from  the  Washburn  home.  At  this 
time  Mr.  Washburn  conducted  a  lumber  business  in  Chicago,  and  Mr.  Bassett 
owned  the  Pictorial  Printing  Company  in  Aurora. 

"Their  hobby  proved  so  interesting  and  lucrative  that  they  added  a  wing  to 
each  end  of  the  central  building  and  imported  manetti,  a  type  of  root,  from 
Europe.  To  this  root  they  grafted  rose  scions,  and  thus  produced  American 
Beauty  roses.  Manetti  was  not  grown  successfully  in  the  United  States  until 
about  1915  when  it  was  produced  in  Oregon  and  Washington. 

"So  many  roses  were  grown  by  Messers  Bassett  and  Washburn  that  they  were 
taken  to  Chicago,  where  they  found  a  ready  market,  and  so  successful  was  this 
venture  that  they  formed  a  partnership  and  continued  the  enlargement  of  their 
plant,  operating  greenhouses  and  a  wholesale  flower  store.  This  firm  was  the 
first  to  produce  American  Beauty  roses  for  the  commercial  market,  and  its  busi- 
ness flourished  for  many  years  on  a  large  scale." 

In  1905  there  was  a  hotly  contested  election  for  the  presidency  of 
the  village,  the  candidates  being  John  Hess  and  J.  C.  F.  Merrill.  Polit- 
ical campaigns,  of  the  usual  sort,  had  accompanied  the  village  elections 
ever  since  the  1880's  and  this  one  is  said  to  have  been  especially  noisy 
and  apparently  out  of  harmony  with  the  governmental  requirements  of 
a  small  town. 

Early  in  the  present  century,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  C.  B.  Kim- 
bell,  the  Hinsdale  Sanitarium  was  founded  by  Dr.  David  Paulson,  his 
wife  Mary  Paulson,  and  his  brother  N.  W.  Paulson.  The  Sanitarium 
building  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  September  1905.  There  was 
an  orchestra  concert,  addresses  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Kellogg  of  Battle  Creek, 
Michigan,  and  Judge  Carter  of  the  Cook  County  Court.  These  pro- 
ceedings were  followed  by  a  banquet  to  which  various  persons  from 
Chicago,  Hinsdale,  and  elsewhere  had  been  invited. 

From  this  modest  beginning  the  sanitarium  has  expanded,  in 
stature  and  in  serviceability.  The  number  of  Hinsdaleans  who  have 
been  born  there,  or  who  have  recovered  from  minor  or  serious  ailments 
within  its  comfortable  building  and  grounds  runs  into  the  thousands. 
Only  four  years  after  the  sanitarium  was  completed,  a  large  wing  was 
added  to  the  building. 


FROM   i9oo   ONWARD  147 

Social  activity  continued  in  full  bloom,  with  most  of  it  centered  at 
the  Hinsdale  Club.  A  music  class  was  meeting  there,  sponsored  by  the 
Mesdames  A.  E.  Walker,  Harvey  Dean,  Grant  Miller,  and  F.  C.  Bebb. 
A  minstrel  troupe  from  La  Grange  appeared  at  the  Club  house,  and 
possibly  this  one  inspired  many  that  were  to  follow,  made  up  of  Hins- 
dale talent.  Dr.  Gunsaulus  lectured  at  the  Club,  the  Beloit  College 
Glee  Club  performed  there,  and  the  Grace  Church  Men's  Club,  a  large 
organization  of  its  kind,  held  its  annual  banquet  there. 

Alvar  Bournique  conducted  dancing  classes  at  the  club  house  over 
an  extended  period.  When  bowling  alleys  were  installed  in  the  base- 
ment, they  were  something  new  in  this  vicinity.  But  perhaps  the  event 
for  which  the  Hinsdale  Club  is  best  remembered  was  the  annual  New 
Year's  dance.  Like  its  forerunner  the  masquerade  ball,  at  Stough's  Hall 
back  in  the  Seventies,  the  New  Year's  dance  at  the  club  was  an  institu- 
tion, for  more  than  thirty  years. 

Among  the  addenda,  there  is  a  list  of  all  but  a  few  of  those  who 
served  as  President  of  the  Hinsdale  Club.  Although  the  club  was 
largely  a  place  for  social  gaiety  and  repose,  its  officers  had  a  task  to  per- 
form. For  in  those  days  club  budgets  were  not  easily  balanced;  the 
problems  of  supply,  and  of  the  maintenance  of  large  frame  buildings, 
were  many. 

Do  you  remember  Utley  and  Frisbie's  livery  stable,  Powell's 
Bakery,  and  F.  W.  Bahlman's  tailoring  establishments?  They  were 
advertising  in  the  village  paper  in  1906.  There  was  the  Lawton  chil- 
dren's pet  donkey  that  was  always  such  a  feature  of  the  Fourth  of  July 
parades.  Where  are  the  water  lilies  that  bloomed  in  such  great  abun- 
dance in  Salt  Creek?  What  caused  them  to  disappear?  Do  you  recall  the 
Golf  Club  when  it  was  located  east  of  the  present  course,  and  the  large 
crop  of  wild  flowers  that  brightened  the  fields  every  summer  across  the 
road  to  the  south? 

"Asa  Bacon  Makes  Good,"  said  a  Doings  headline,  and  so  he  had, 
for  Asa  Bacon  was  the  former  clerk  of  Ditzler  and  Linsley's  grocery. 
He  now  had  become  general  superintendent  of  the  Presbyterian  Hos- 
pital in  Chicago.  In  a  later  issue  of  the  paper,  Superintendent  Bacon 
described  the  internal  workings  of  the  institution  that  he  had  so  large 
a  part  in  running. 

This  appointment  was  made  by  Dr.  D.  K.  Pearsons,  who  at  that 
time  was  President  of  the  hospital.  The  following  incident,  related  by 


148  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Mr.  Philip  R.  Clarke,  who  now  is  President  of  the  institution's  board, 
is  not  a  complete  explanation  of  why  Asa  Bacon  got  the  job,  but 
undoubtedly  it  was  a  rung  in  the  ladder: 

One  day  Dr.  Pearsons  went  into  the  grocery  and  asked  for  a  dozen  oranges. 
While  clerk  Bacon  was  putting  them  in  a  bag,  the  customer  slipped  a  thirteenth 
orange  into  his  pocket.  This  act  was  observed  by  Bacon,  who  promptly  charged 
the  doctor  for  thirteen  instead  of  twelve.  It  is  reported  that  the  philanthropist 
had  tried  the  same  thing  on  clerks  in  various  stores,  and  that  the  others  had 
let  him  "get  away  with  it."  But  large  hospitals  are  places  where  considerable 
sums  can  be  saved  or  lost,  depending  on  the  handling  of  small  items  of  expense. 

Lectures,  investment  opportunities  in  Texas  and  Mexican  lands 
were  much  in  the  news  during  these  years.  Bassett  and  Washburn  won 
prizes  at  the  National  Flower  Show's  exhibit  in  Chicago's  Coliseum. 
The  Swedish  Baptist  Mission  bought  Gardner's  Hall,  formerly  known 
as  Stough's  Hall. 

A  social  event  of  considerable  importance  in  1909  was  the  "double 
anniversary"  party  given  for  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hench.  The  couple  had  been 
married  twenty-five  years  and  it  also  was  the  doctor's  twenty-fifth  year 
of  practice  here. 

On  a  cold,  windy  night  in  January  of  the  same  year  Ditzler  and 
Linsley's  store  burned.  A  basketball  game  at  the  Garfield  school  had 
just  ended  when  the  fire  whistle  blew,  and  most  of  the  spectators  went 
to  see  the  blaze.  The  store  was  a  complete  loss,  and  the  entire  block  was 
threatened  because  of  the  high  wind.  But  the  flames  were  prevented 
from  spreading  by  fire  walls,  an  adequate  water  supply,  efficient  fire- 
men, and  help  from  the  fire  departments  of  La  Grange  and  Downer's 
Grove,  and  from  local  volunteers. 

Athletics,  by  now,  was  taking  a  more  prominent  place  in  village 
life.  As  for  basketball,  the  year  1 909  is  one  to  remember  especially,  for 
it  was  during  that  season  that  the  state  championship  was  won  by  a 
small  high  school,  with  its  team  largely  self-coached,  and  its  court  on 
the  third  floor  of  the  old  brick  building  on  the  Garfield  hill.  "Stellar" 
is  the  word  usually  employed  to  describe  star  basketball  players,  and 
this  appelation  surely  became  the  names  of  Bahlman,  Cortis,  Dana, 
Davidson,  and  Keith,  a  quintet  whose  achievement  has  not  been 
equalled  by  a  Hinsdale  High  School  team.  The  manager  of  the  team 
was  Arthur  Collins. 

With  the  ending  of  the  1909  basketball  season,  Robert  A.  Gardner 


FROM   ipoo   ONWARD  149 

entered  the  national  amateur  golf  tournament,  and  he  came  home  with 
the  cup.  Bob  Gardner  also  pole-vaulted  for  Yale. 

Baseball  was  played  in  Hinsdale  before  it  became  the  national 
game.  Shortly  after  it  had  gained  popular  favor  in  the  East,  baseball 
reached  the  pasture  diamonds  of  Fullersburg  and  Hinsdale,  in  the  6o's 
and  70's.  A  news  item  of  1874  told  of  a  game  between  teams  represent- 
ing those  towns. 

No  record  has  been  found  of  the  seasonal  accomplishment  of  teams 
that  represented  the  village  during  the  1800's,  but  it  is  probable  that 
none  of  them  reached  the  heights  that  were  cleared  by  the  town  teams 
of  1908  through  1914.  There  were  senior  and  junior  town  teams.  The 
senior  team  held  the  Suburban  League  championship  for  a  majority 
of  the  six  years.  Among  the  members  of  those  teams  were  F.  Bahlman, 
G.  Clark,  P.  R.  Clarke,  H.  Flechtner,  P.  and  W.  Hales,  M.  Johnson, 
the  three  Keiths,  El,  Gil,  and  Hans;  Wm.  Luthin,  and  E.  Luthin.  Phil 
Clarke,  Goodwin  Clark,  and  Bill  Luthin,  in  the  order  given,  usually 
topped  the  list  in  batting  averages. 

The  most  successful  season  a  Hinsdale  town  football  team  has 
experienced  was  back  in  1899,  when  football  was  a  new  sport  in  the 
village.  But  during  the  years  on  both  sides  of  1910  the  town  team  won 
more  games  than  it  lost,  and  it  met  all  comers  from  up  and  down 
the"Q." 

Some  of  those  who  played  on  the  1899  team  were  Lester  Childs, 
Robert  W.  Clark  Jr.,  Elliot  Fulton,  Tom  Murray,  and  Earl  Needham. 
Later,  these  men  were  playing,  viz.;  Si  Blogett,  Pete  Evernden,  Her- 
man Flechtner,  Art  Hammond,  Bill  Pape,  Albert  Prior,  and  Fred 
Schmidt. 

These  teams,  baseball  and  football,  played  most  of  their  games  on 
the  old  field  between  Washington  and  Lincoln  south  of  Seventh 
street,  familiarly  known  as  "The  end  of  Washington." 

The  annals  of  Hinsdale  athletics  include  the  names  of  Edwin 
(Laddie)  Myers,  and  Frank  Foss,  both  of  whom  have  represented  the 
United  States  in  pole  vaulting  at  the  Olympics.  Robert  Ayres  and  Fred 
Cortis  were  top  dash  men  at  the  University  of  Illinois.  John  Bryan 
played  on  the  varsity  football  team  at  the  University  of  Chicago,  before 
intercollegiate  competition  was  discontinued  there. 

Organized  citizen  groups  and  assemblies  always  have  had  an  influ- 
ential voice  in  the  deliberation  of  questions  concerning  the  public 


150  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

welfare  and  progress.  A  group  of  this  kind  that  had  a  membership  of 
250  persons,  and  exerted  considerable  influence  in  village  affairs  after 
the  turn  of  the  century,  was  the  Village  League.  The  League  pondered 
and  acted  upon  a  variety  of  subjects  relating  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  community.  It  explored  the  subject  of  relief  of  the  needy,  resulting 
in  the  formation  of  the  Hinsdale  Relief  Society  (forerunner  of  Hins- 
dale Community  Service).  The  League  brought  ''sanity"  to  the  village 
Fourth  of  July  celebrations,  and  it  once  wrote  a  letter  to  the  CB&Q 
Railroad  Company  recommending  certain  changes  in  facilities  that 
prevailed  at  the  old  Union  Depot.  The  minute  books  of  the  Village 
League  have  not  been  found,  but  the  organization  is  known  to  have 
served  the  village  conscientiously  and  wisely  for  fifteen  years  or  more. 
Another  well-remembered  organization  was  the  Hinsdale  Fresh 
Air  Association,  the  beginnings  of  which  are  described  as  follows  by 
The  Hinsdale  Beacon,  a  contemporary  of  the  Associations'  founders: 

"In  the  spring  of  1888  Rev.  W.  C.  Gannett,  then  pastor  of  the  Unitarian 
Church  at  Hinsdale,  proposed  to  his  congregation  to  take  into  their  homes 
children  of  the  needy  and  deserving  poor  of  Chicago,  to  be  cared  for  one  week. 
Mr.  Gannett  called  it  'lending  the  country  for  one  week  to  those  who  knew  so 
little  of  it'.  The  plan  was  to  be  named  the  "Children's  Country  Week." 

"After  some  canvassing  and  consideration,  this  proposal  was  modified  by  Mrs. 
H.  C.  Coffeen  to  one  which  seemed  to  meet  with  more  general  approbation.  This 
was  to  take  an  unoccupied  house  and  fit  it  up  for  the  reception  during  the 
summer  for  working  girls  and  needy  children.  Mr.  Alfred  Payne  generously 
offered  the  use  of  his  country  house,  and  it  was  furnished  with  bedding  and 
other  necessaries  by  women  of  Hinsdale,  who  also  supplied  cooked  food,  sent 
in  every  day,  with  the  contributions  of  money  being  used  for  incidental  expenses. 
Physicians  in  the  village  donated  their  services  to  the  Association's  clients 
whenever  they  were  needed."  (The  Payne  house  formerly  was  the  home  of 
Marvin  Fox,  early  settler  in  Brush  Hill.  It  still  stands,  at  the  southeast  corner 
of  Lincoln  and  Ogden.) 

The  Hinsdale  Fresh  Air  Association  was  organized  in  1889.  The 
elected  officers  were:  Mrs.  H.  M.  Van  Liew,  President;  Mrs.  John 
Burton,  Vice  President;  Mrs.  F.  P.  Bagley,  Secretary. 

The  Association  functioned  faithfully  up  to  the  1920's,  affording 
to  hundreds  of  underprivileged  young  people  an  opportunity  to  see 
the  country  and  to  come  in  contact  with  persons  and  surroundings 
which  were  beneficial  to  both  physical  and  mental  health.  Apparently 
the  only  reason  for  its  discontinuance  was  a  gradual  change  in  the 
economic  condition  of  that  class  from  which  it  drew  its  beneficiaries. 


FROM   i9oo   ONWARD  151 

Living  standards  had  risen  to  the  point  where  the  need  of  the  particular 
facilities  offered  by  the  Association  was  no  longer  urgent. 

In  the  handling  of  both  its  funds  and  its  affairs,  this  was  an  excep- 
tionally well  administered  undertaking.  Its  record  stands  high  among 
those  of  Hinsdale's  useful  organizations. 

Among  other  milestones  after  1900  were  these: 

Adolph  Frosher,  Truman  Eustice,  Mr.  H.  Thayer,  Sophia  Merrill, 
LaFayette  Briggs,  and  Mrs.  Cornelia  Stuart  passed  away. 

The  wedding  of  Miss  Louise  Hildebrand  and  Philip  Ream  Clarke 
took  place  at  Grace  Church,  on  a  Saturday  evening  in  September  of 
1910. 

Mrs.  Blanche  Merriman,  the  talented  pianist,  wife  of  Reverend 
Earl  Merriman  minister  of  Grace  Church,  was  appearing  frequently 
at  musicales  and  receptions. 

The  new  golf  club  opened  in  1910,  at  its  present  location. 

Francis  S.  Peabody,  who  had  moved  to  Hinsdale,  and  who  later 
established  his  large  estate  at  Mays  Lake,  was  mentioned  as  a  possible 
candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  announcement,  marking  one  of  Hinsdale's  por- 
tentous events  appeared  in  a  June  issue  of  The  Doings  in  1912: 

"There  will  be  a  meeting  of  all  adults  interested  in  the  organization  of  a  Boy 
Scout  Camp  in  Hinsdale  in  the  parlors  of  the  Hinsdale  Club.  Field  Secretary 
Pollard  will  speak  and  answer  questions  regarding  this  great  movement." 

The  Girl  Scout  movement  soon  followed,  and  these  two  organiza- 
tions, Boy  Scouts  and  Girl  Scouts,  have  continued  to  the  present  time. 

In  1912  Hinsdale  was  considering  the  erection  of  a  new  village  hall, 
but  the  proposal  was  a  little  ahead  of  its  time.  Soon  the  possibility  of  a 
new,  large  hotel  was  widely  discussed.  This  edifice  would  have  been 
commodious  and  open  to  both  resident  and  transient  guests.  Sketches 
of  the  architects'  conception  of  the  building,  and  descriptions  of  its 
appointments,  and  names  of  those  who  were  backing  the  project  were 
given  wide  publicity.  Promotion  meetings  were  held.  But  eventually 
the  idea  faded  out,  and  nothing  further  was  heard  of  it.  Had  this  hotel 
materialized,  it,  instead  of  the  Memorial  Building,  would  now  stand 
on  the  hill  north  of  the  station. 


152  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Harvest  Home  dinner  dances  of  the  Golf  Club  had  their  inaugura- 
tion about  1913,  and  were  to  be  an  institution  for  many  years.  And  it 
was  around  this  time  that  the  "sane"  Fourth  of  July  movement  began 
to  take  hold,  to  be  followed  by  a  village  ordinance  abolishing  the  use 
of  muffler  cut-outs  on  automobiles. 

Among  the  lecturers  at  the  Woman's  Club  in  1914,  was  a  man  who 
gave  a  talk  on  the  war  in  Europe,  an  event  which  was  eliciting  mild 
interest  and  wide  condemnation.  The  peace  crusade  which  followed 
found  local  encouragement  and  support. 

In  January,  1915,  the  Hinsdale  Theatre  opened,  with  a  drama  of 
five  reels  entitled  "The  Hoosier  Schoolmaster."  This  first  theatre  was 
housed  in  a  small  building  that  stood  on  the  present  site  of  Schweidler 
and  Mewherter's  store.  It  displayed  many  silent  but  chuckle-provoking, 
pie-tossing  comedies,  and  hair-raising  dramas.  At  the  piano  Myra 
Bohlander  played  the  theme  music,  "catchy"  tunes  that  succeeded  one 
another  hour  after  hour  without  becoming  monotonous. 

Other  milestones  passed  in  this  year  were  the  start  of  a  branch  of 
Infant  Welfare,  the  assurance  of  a  new  Union  Station  in  the  city,  and 
the  arrival  of  Roger  C.  Sullivan  who  occupied  the  large  brick  residence 
on  the  County  Line  Road  formerly  owned  by  the  Freers,  and  afterward 
by  Stuyvesant  Peabody.  Mr.  A.  E.  Keith  was  honored  by  the  Scientific 
American  magazine  for  his  work  in  developing  the  automatic  tele- 
phone, and  the  Hinsdale  Relief  Society  had  its  start  toward  administer- 
ing to  the  needy. 

Robert  A.  Childs  passed  away  in  this  year,  also  Edwin  C.  Fuller, 
H.  K.  Walker,  and  H.  W.  Holcomb. 

Lectures,  describing  the  war  in  Europe  had  changed  to  talks  on 
preparedness.  Ladies  began  taking  part  in  Red  Cross  work,  and  a  few 
young  men  had  joined  the  National  Guard. 

A  Christian  Science  group  was  formed  in  the  village.  There  was  a 
good-roads  movement  throughout  the  region.  A  vote  on  local  option 
was  held,  and  the  township  remained  "dry." 

War  was  declared,  draft  boards  were  set  up  and  the  village  began  to 
"do  its  bit."  Boys  went  to  training  camps,  and  three  residents  of  Hins- 
dale were  chosen  for  important  posts:  Alexander  Legge  was  Assistant 
Purchasing  Agent  for  the  United  States,  Philip  R.  Clarke  was  war  loan 
leader  in  Chicago,  and  C.  E.  Raymond  was  publicity  agent  for  the 
production  and  conservation  of  food. 


FROM   ipoo   ONWARD  153 

For  the  next  two  years,  news  of  the  war  predominated  in  the  local 
paper.  News  of  some  Hinsdale  boys  being  lost  was  received:  Among 
the  first  were  Leslie  Chandler,  Mac  Weddell,  Malcolm  Brown,  Harry 
McAllister,  Linus  Ruth,  and  William  Giffert. 

But  eventually  the  war  ended.  The  village  had  its  part  in  celebrat- 
ing the  Armistice,  resumed  its  peace-time  pursuits,  and  soon  entered 
upon  the  tumultuous  twenties. 


Regardless  of  the  number  of  horses  that  had  pranced  the  village 
streets  in  the  8o's  and  90's,  no  mention  has  been  found  of  a  horse  show 
during  those  years.  But  in  1916  the  Saddle  &  Bridle  Club,  whose 
members  lived  in  Hinsdale  and  other  suburbs,  held  its  first  annual 
horse  show,  on  the  old  Middaugh  farm  in  Clarendon  Hills.  These 
events  were  interrupted  by  the  war  of  1 9 1 7- 1 8,  and  the  Saddle  $c  Bridle 
Club  went  out  of  existence.  But  horse  shows  eventually  were  resumed, 
on  a  larger  scale,  at  the  Oak  Brook  Polo  Club. 

Early  in  1919  the  state  sold  $60,000,000  worth  of  bonds  for  new 
motor  roads,  from  which  Du  Page  County  benefited  to  the  extent  of 
$1,000,000. 

A  village  park  and  athletic  field  was  acquired,  comprising  an  entire 
block  at  Hickory  and  Vine  streets.  Half  of  this  tract  was  purchased  from 
O.  J.  Stough  of  San  Diego,  California,  and  the  other  half  from  local 
property  owners.  This  area  was  named  Burns  Field,  for  R.  W.  Burns, 
then  President  of  the  village. 

Ruth  Lake  Golf  Club,  southwest  of  the  town,  had  its  start  during 
the  1920's,  through  the  sale  of  memberships  to  many  of  the  younger 
men  of  the  neighborhood.  The  club  has  functioned  successfully 
through  the  years. 

In  1 920  William  Evernden  sold  his  business;  a  new  village  ice  plant 
came  into  operation,  and  power  tractors  were  being  introduced  on  the 
surrounding  farms.  A  widespread  building-trades  strike  hampered  the 
construction  of  new  homes. 

The  50th  birthday  of  the  village  was  celebrated  in  1923.  A  large 
party  was  held  at  the  High  School  gymnasium,  and  The  Doings  printed 
a  special  issue  commemorating  the  event.  "And  a  colorful  pageant  it 
was  from  the  opening  address  of  welcome  by  President  Burns  until  the 
last  strains  of  'Home  Sweet  Home.'  "  Sponsored  by  the  Village  Board, 


154  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

the  good  work  of  preparing  and  directing  the  celebration  was  carried 
on  by  the  Plan  Commission.  Mrs.  H.  I.  Hiatt  was  chairman  of  the 
committee.  The  other  members  were  Mrs.  Lemuel  H.  Freer,  Mrs. 
W.  T.  Bruckner,  Mrs.  N.  H.  Whiteside,  Mrs.  Frank  tarr,  and  Mrs. 
Ralph  Pierce. 

It  seemed  altogether  appropriate  for  Fullersburg  to  have  been 
annexed  to  Hinsdale  in  this  year,  but  Clarendon  Hills  voted  on  the 
same  question  and  decided  to  remain  separate.  Radcliffe  Park  and 
the  Woodlands  were  opened  for  home  building,  and  plans  were  ap- 
proved for  the  enlargement  of  the  light  and  water  plant,  including 
water  softening  facilities.  Plans  for  the  new  Madison  School  were  well- 
developed.  Automatic  traffic  lights  were  coming  into  use. 

During  the  early  ig2o's  Hinsdale  experimented  with  the  Village 
Manager  plan.  In  many  respects  the  management  was  satisfactory,  but 
when  differences  arose  concerning  the  sources  of  the  manager's  com- 
pensation, he  went  elsewhere  when  his  term  expired,  and  the  Village 
sought  another  President  of  the  Board. 

New  subdivisions  developed  during  this  decade.  The  remaining 
acres  of  Alfred  L.  Walker's  farm  became  Radcliffe  Park.  East  of  the 
County  Line,  W.  R.  Jordan  set  out  The  Woodlands.  New  homes  were 
appearing  in  the  Oak  Brook  area. 

The  village  population  had  reached  7,500.  Safety  on  our  streets  was 
becoming  more  uncertain.  A  request  from  Western  Springs  for  permis- 
sion to  draw  on  the  Hinsdale  water  supply  was  declined;  and  trouble 
was  experienced  in  keeping  the  water  mains  unobstructed.  Village 
schools  were  beginning  to  use  state  funds  for  certain  purposes. 

The  town  withstood  its  first  year  of  the  long  depression  with  no 
troubles.  Relief  and  unemployment  problems  were  not  to  hit  for  an- 
other twelve  or  eighteen  months. 

In  1930  a  magazine,  The  Economist,  reviewed  the  business  career 
of  Philip  Clarke,  and  told  of  his  elevation  to  the  presidency  of  the 
Central  Trust  Company.  At  about  the  same  time  Wade  Fetzer  was 
made  president  of  the  Fidelity  and  Casualty  Company  of  New  York, 
and  Alexander  Legge  was  appointed  to  head  the  United  States  Farm 
Board.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Legge,  a  few  years  later,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  A.  E.  McKinstry  as  president  of  International  Harvester. 

In  that  same  year,  1930,  there  were  other  Hinsdaleans  who  were 
making  their  mark.  Who's  Who  in  Chicago  listed  the  following  names 
and  occupations,  as  well  as  many  that  have  already  been  mentioned: 


FROM   ipoo   ONWARD  155 

Ralph  N.  Ballou,  banker,  retired. 

Samuel  W.  Banning,  patent  attorney. 

Samuel  Beatty,  president,  the  Austin-Western  Road  Machinery  Co. 

George  H.  Bell,  western  manager,  the  National  Fire  Insurance  Co. 

George  A.  Berry,  Jr.,  lawyer. 

Frederick  T.  Boles,  lumber  and  securities. 

H.  A.  Brinkman,  banker. 

Charles  A.  Brown,  patent  attorney. 

William  T.  Bruckner,  vice  president,  Continental-Illinois  Bank,  and  other 

banking  interests. 
Walter  J.  Buffington,  vice  president,  C.  D.  Peacock  &  Co. 
Randall  Burns,  lawyer. 

Burridge  D.  Butler,  owner  and  publisher,  The  Prairie  Farmer. 
Ward  C.  Castle,  vice  president,  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  and  chairman 

of  the  Grant  Land  Association. 

E.  W.  Childs,  President,  S.  D.  Childs  &  Co.,  stationers. 
L.  C.  Childs,  lawyer. 

R.  W.  Childs,  lawyer. 
Charles  L.  Cobb,  lawyer. 
Sydney  T.  Collins,  insurance,  retired. 
L.  P.  Conover,  lawyer. 
W.  B.  Davies,  patent  attorney. 

Samuel  E.  Dean,  president,  Dean  Evaporated  Milk  Co. 
William  F.  Dickinson,  lawyer. 

A.  G.  Dugan,  western  manager,  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Co.,  vice  president, 
Hartford  Accident  &  Indemnity  Co. 

F.  G.  Dyas,  M.D.,  surgeon. 

O.  W.  Dynes,  general  counsel,  Chicago,  Milwaukee  8c  St.  Paul  R.R.  Co. 

Walter  H.  Eckert,  lawyer. 

Stanley  R.  Edwards,  engineer  and  editor. 

E.  Porter  Essley,  secretary,  the  E.  L.  Essley  Machinery  Co. 

Edward  W.  Everett,  lawyer. 

Frank  D.  Farr,  vice  president,  Silver,  Burdett  8c  Co.,  publishers. 

J.  C.  Fetzer,  real  estate,  mortgage  banking,  and  receiver  for  traction  lines. 

Walter  Taylor  Field,  author    (the  Field  Readers,  etc.)    and  editor  of  The 

Abbey  Classics. 
H.  W.  Freeman,  lawyer. 
Alexander  G.  Frost,  shoe  merchant. 

Maurice  E.  Handke,  president,  Archer  Paint  2c  Varnish  Co. 
Jay  L.  Hench,  vice  president,  Mid  West  Forging  Co.  Also   identified  with 

mining. 
H.  G.  Hetzler,  president,  Chicago  2c  WTestern  Indiana  Railroad  Co.  and  the 

Belt  Railway  of  Chicago. 
Houston  I.  Hiatt,  Chicago  sales  representative  for  the  National  Malleable  2c 

Steel  Castings  Co. 
Charles  W.  Higley,  president,  Hanover  Fire  Insurance  Co. 
H.  H.  Holcomb,  vice  president,  Chicago,  Burlington  2c  Quincy  Railroad  Co. 
Addison  C.  Hoof,  automotive  supplies. 


156  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

M.  L.  Joselyn,  president,  Joselyn  Manufacturing  %c  Supply  Co.  and  associated 

companies. 
H.  Victor  Keane,  vice  president,  American  Bank  Note  Co.,  and  president  of 

Western  Bank  Note  Sc  Engraving  Co. 
Marshall  Keig,  executive  vice  president  and  director  of  the  Consumers  Co. 
Harry  C.  Knisely,  manufacturer  of  building  equipment. 
J.  S.  Knowlson,  general  manager,  Electro-Magnetic  Tool  Co. 
William  F.  Krohn,  secretary,  Central  Commercial  Co. 

John  B.  Lamson,  manager,  commercial  development  department,  C  B  8c  Q  R.R. 
John  S.  Lord,  lawyer. 

Archibald  MacLeish,  controller,  Carson  Pirie  Scott  &  Co. 
Edward  P.  McKenna,  McKenna  $c  Strawser,  grain  dealers. 
G.  R.  McLeran,  manager,  Home  Life  Insurance  Co.  of  New  York. 
H.  S.  Mecartney,  lawyer. 

Frederick  W.  Moore,  Moore,  Case,  Lyman  &  Hubbard,  insurance. 
M.  A.  Myers,  manufacturer  of  medical  supplies. 
Louis  J.  Naumann,  Naumann  k  Steuer,  real  estate. 

Frederick  O'Brien,  western  manager  of  a  group  of  insurance  companies. 
John  C.  B.  Parker,  insurance. 
Stuyvesant  Peabody,  president,  Peabody  Coal  Co. 
H.  Perry  Phelps,  vice  president,  Chicago  Transfer  &  Clearing  Co. 
William  H.  Regnery,  president,  Western  Shade  Cloth  Co.  and  of  Standard 

Shade  Roller  Corp. 
Bruce  E.  Richie,  insurance. 
Wilfred  A.  Rowell,  pastor,  Union  Church. 
Dana  Slade,  Jr.,  president,  Slade,  Hipp  &  Meloy. 
Jesse  E.  Smith,  district  manager,  Prudential  Insurance  Co. 
Nathaniel  G.  Symonds,  commercial  vice  pres.,  Westinghouse  Elec.  &  Mfg.  Co. 
Walter  B.  Templeton,  president,  Templeton,  Kenly  &  Co. 
Ralph  M.  Thayer,  president,  Thayer  Eating  Houses. 
Harold  G.  Townsend,  lawyer,  banker. 
Frank  VanInwagen,  railway  equipment. 
James  B.  VanVleck,  investment  banker. 
William  L.  Veeck,  president  and  treasurer,  Chicago  National  League  Baseball 

Club. 
Mary  L.  Wade,  teacher  and  home  economist. 
Frank  B.  Webster,  teacher  and  musician. 
Thomas  R.  Weddell,  publisher  of  The  Insurance  Post. 
William  W.  Williamson,  life  insurance. 
Thomas  H.  Willis,  real  estate. 
William  L.  Wilson,  physician. 
George  L.  Wire,  lawyer. 
John  F.  Wohlgemuth,  editor. 
John  C.  Wood,  president,  J.  C.  Wood  &  Company. 

The  compilers  of  "who's  who"  books,  and  those  who  scan  them,  are 
not  immune  to  error.  Possibly  a  few  names  that  do  not  appear  should 
be  included  in  the  foregoing  list.  Many  of  those  whose  names  had 


FROM   i goo   ONWARD  157 

appeared  in  previous  issues  of  the  book  had  passed  away  by  the  year 
1930. 

During  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century  Hinsdale,  as  both  a 
delightful  place  to  live,  and  as  a  corporation,  became  well  established. 
The  major  public  works  and  utilities  had  been  provided,  the  govern- 
ing codes  matured,  and  the  procedure  of  establishing  a  home  had 
become  systemized.  The  churches,  schools,  stores,  and  services  became 
adequate  to  village  needs.  Physically,  the  town  had  grown  beyond  that 
era  of  village-wide  neighborliness  that  is  so  fond  to  the  memories  of 
old-time  residents,  but  the  community  groups  remained,  and  through 
them  many  individual  friendships  have  been  formed  that  are  as  highly 
valued  as  were  those  of  yore. 

A  review  of  the  period  since  1900  reveals  a  change  in  the  pace  of 
village  life,  especially  since  1920.  Increases  in  the  volume  and  speed  of 
transportation  and  of  communication  have  brought  that  change  here, 
as  elsewhere,  and  the  transition  has  been  accompanied  by  further 
growth  of  population.  It  also  reveals  fewer  out-of-the-ordinary  happen- 
ings in  the  neighborhood,  and  more  sameness  in  the  weekly  news;  a 
state  of  affairs,  however,  that  is  always  subject  to  the  whims  of  man, 
or  nature. 

Events  of  twenty-five  years  ago. and  beyond  hold  the  attention 
because  they  have  historical  interest.  But  the  purely  historical  values, 
from  the  reader's  viewpoint,  begin  to  fade  as  modern  times  are  ap- 
proached, because  their  recounting  is  lacking  in  novelty  for  those  of 
the  present  generation,  whose  memories  of  the  actual  events  are  fairly 
clear. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  Hinsdale  had  its  begin- 
ning in  the  spring  of  the  year,  a  season  of  buoyancy,  assurance,  and 
aspiration.  May  this  be  considered  a  portent  of  progress,  and  per- 
haps of  future  fulfillment. 


chapter  ix        Symbols  of  a  Good  Society 


THERE  are  certain  events,  in  both  the  distant  and  recent  past,  that 
go  beyond  the  strictly  historical.  These  events,  or  phases,  of  village 
life  have  their  place  in  the  chronology,  but  their  importance  in  another 
respect  appears  to  outweigh  their  purely  historical  values,  for  they  are 
symbolical  of  the  forces  and  influences  that  make  for  progress,  and  the 
shaping  of  a  town's  characteristics. 

Events  of  this  category  are  numerous.  Indeed  there  have  been  so 
many  that  it  is  difficult  to  designate  some  as  being  more  representative 
than  others. 

There  are  certain  recognized  factors  that  contribute  to  the  tem- 
per and  demeanor  of  any  and  all  modern  communities,  such  as  the 
churches,  schools,  and  various  governing  bodies;  and  if  any  community 
can  point  to  some  of  its  achievements  with  special  pride,  the  achieve- 
ment is  almost  sure  to  have  resulted,  at  least  in  part,  from  community 
training  and  environment.  So  it  is  obvious  that  our  religious  and  edu- 
cational institutions  are,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  bases  from  which 
the  worth-while  civic  accomplishments  have  emanated.  From  those 
points,  other  courses  are  charted. 

As  symbols  of  a  good  society,  these  are  offered: 

Those  of  the  pioneer  era  who  helped  the  new-comers  build  their 
houses,  lent  or  gave  them  live  stock  on  which  to  get  a  start.  King,  Grant, 
Fuller,  et  al. 


Tom  and  liza  nelson.  They  had  been  slaves  in  former  years.  Here, 
back  in  the  8o's,  Tom  operated  his  own  express  business,  and  occupied 
his  home  at  Third  and  Vine  Streets. 


Men  of  early  Hinsdale  who  gave  of  their  time,  energy  and  substance  to 
build  the  first  side-walks,  schools,  churches,  and  village  utilities. 
Robbins,  Stough,  Warren,  Ross,  Gardner,  Clarke,  Merrill,  and  others. 


58 


SYMBOLS   OF  A    GOOD  SOCIETY  159 

Men  and  women,  hundreds  of  them,  who  have  taken  the  trouble  to 
sponsor  and  carry  through  the  many  charitable  endeavors  that  have 
been  organized  and  conducted  in  the  village  throughout  the  past  50 
years,  especially  those  of  the  Fresh  Air  Association,  the  Relief  Society, 
the  Good  Fellows;  and  more  recently  the  two  Infant  Welfare  Societies, 
the  Community  Service,  the  local  chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross, 
and  those  who  conduct  the  Community  Chest. 


We  hail  the  old  Village  League,  and  its  more  recent  compatriot  the 
Plan  Commission. 


During  an  earlier  era,  community  needs  could  be  met  more  simply 
and  directly  than  is  possible  today,  with  our  complex  social  and  civic 
structure.  A  needy  family  received  direct  assistance  from  the  imme- 
diate neighbors,  and  if  a  community  building  was  required  it  was 
nearly  always  donated  by  some  individual.  Building  costs  were  low, 
and  the  procedure  of  obtaining  land  and  erecting  the  building  was 
simple. 

During  the  past  forty  years,  in  Hinsdale  and  elsewhere,  the  achieve- 
ment of  out-of-the-ordinary  local  civic  projects  have  had  to  rely  more 
and  more  upon  the  support  of  many,  instead  of  just  a  few.  Commu- 
nities are  larger,  and  civic  requirements  are  costlier.  Moreover,  the 
wider  the  spread  of  participation  in  a  project,  within  the  community, 
the  broader  is  the  consciousness  of  its  ownership.  This  trend,  in  fact, 
has  been  carried  to  extremes.  Some  believe  that  Federal  money  should 
be  employed  more  in  local  projects.  Most  Hinsdaleans  do  not  subscribe 
to  that  view,  because  they  believe  in  the  local  community  as  a  civic 
unit,  but  they  are  convinced  of  the  desirability  of  broad  local  partici- 
pation in  local  civic  works  and  facilities. 

This  requires  organization.  It  requires  leadership  of  a  high  order, 
and  it  calls  for  a  community  morale  of  such  nature  as  to  support  a 
worthy  project  once  it  has  been  decided  upon.  Hinsdale  has  demon- 
strated, on  many  occasions,  its  possession  of  these  qualities  and  char- 
acteristics. There  is  not  space  to  enumerate  them  all,  but  it  does  appear 
in  order  to  describe  in  some  detail  the  history  of  one  such  project,  a 
piece  of  work  that  undoubtedly  will  stand  for  many  years  as  an  example 
of  the  efficient  handling  of  such  undertakings. 


160  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

The  idea  of  a  building  to  house  a  civic  center,  as  a  war  memorial, 
originated  among  some  of  the  members  of  the  Legion  Auxiliary.  Their 
views  on  the  subject  were  set  forth  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Village 
Board,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Plan  Commission,  and  the  Im- 
provement Association.  The  suggestion  was  approved  by  these  bodies, 
whereupon  a  meeting  of  those  who  were  interested  in  the  project  was 
held  at  the  Hinsdale  Club.  Selection  of  a  chairman  was  obviously  the 
first  piece  of  business,  and  it  was  decided  to  ask  Mr.  Philip  R.  Clarke 
to  accept  the  post.  This  he  agreed  to  do. 

Under  Mr.  Clarke's  supervision  the  work  got  under  way  early  in 
January  of  1927,  and  the  first  step  consisted  in  getting  together  "the 
most  representative  committee  ever  organized  in  Hinsdale."  Every 
civic  organization  in  town  was  invited  to  send  a  representative.  In  addi- 
tion, a  few  representatives  at  large  were  selected.  Subchairmen  were 
appointed,  and  sub-committees  were  formed. 

On  January  22,  The  Hinsdale  Doings  saluted  the  project  with  a 
rousing  editorial  and  gave  news  of  the  committees  and  their  purposes. 
Summarizing  the  news  items  as  they  appeared  week  by  week: 

By  January  29  the  war  memorial  body  had  made  additions  to  its 
staff,  and  the  committees  were  putting  in  long  hours  on  the  preliminary 
work,  most  of  the  meetings  being  held  at  the  Clarke  residence. 

On  February  26  The  Doings  said,  "The  Memorial  Committee  is 
working  day  and  night;  here  in  Hinsdale,  and  also  in  Chicago.  No 
project  ever  considered  in  Hinsdale  has  ever  been  so  enthusiastically 
administered 

In  the  meantime  the  Village  had  agreed  to  maintain  the  building 
after  it  was  completed. 

On  March  19  the  chairman  issued  a  detailed  explanation  of  the 
functions  of  committees  and  sub-committees,  and  on  March  26  the 
Building  Committee,  headed  by  W.  B.  Burr,  was  giving  consideration 
to  actual  plans  and  layouts,  and  buildings  in  other  communities  had 
been  examined. 

April  30  Hinsdale  ministers  endorsed  the  project,  and  early  con- 
tributions, many  from  ex-servicemen,  began  coming  in.  A  campaign 
progress  chart  was  set  up  in  the  village,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Hinsdale. 
All  was  in  readiness  for  "drive  week." 

On  May  1 ,  the  campaign  for  contributions  got  under  way  with  1 90 
eager  canvassers  in  the  field.  Quotas  had  been  willingly  accepted  and 


SYMBOLS   OF  A    GOOD  SOCIETY  161 

the  campaign  slogan  "We  must  not  fail"  was  rigidly  observed.  Al- 
though the  drive  itself  was  brief,  it  had  been  carefully  prepared,  step 
by  step. 

By  the  end  of  that  week  90  per  cent  of  the  goal  had  been  achieved, 
and  at  a  meeting  on  Saturday  May  7,  ''over  the  top,"  that  statement  so 
welcome  to  all  campaigners,  was  heard.  More  than  $170,000  was  col- 
lected in  that  short  drive,  from  2,000  individual  contributors.  There 
was  a  long  blast  from  the  fire  whistle,  and  the  general  spirit  of  exuber- 
ance prevailing  was  reminiscent  of  Armistice  day. 

The  success  of  this  drive  was  aided  considerably  by  effective  pub- 
licity, by  posters,  paid  advertisements,  movies,  the  pulpit;  which  paved 
the  way  for  the  final  push.  All  of  this  was  augmented  by  splendid  co- 
operation on  the  part  of  The  Doings,  which  reported  faithfully  and 
promptly  all  the  committee's  activities  and  put  out  a  special  Memorial 
Building  issue  on  the  day  the  drive  started. 

Interest  in  the  memorial  was  not  confined  to  Hinsdale.  A  letter  to 
Mr.  Clarke  from  Vice-President  Dawes  in  Washington  expressed  his 
interest  and  good  wishes. 

Plans  for  the  building  were  selected  through  competition  among 
several  architectural  firms,  and  Edwin  H.  Clark,  an  architect  of  Win- 
netka,  won  the  award. 

Clearing  of  the  title  to  the  land  proved  quite  a  task,  but  finally  a 
deed  to  the  property  was  in  the  Committee's  hands.  On  November  12, 
the  corner  stone  of  the  building  was  laid,  accompanied  by  an  address 
by  Howard  P.  Savage,  a  Past  National  Commander  of  the  American 
Legion. 

The  entire  village  cheered  this  work,  and  probably  it  will  stand  for 
a  long  time  as  Hinsdale's  foremost  civic  achievement  and  as  an  unsur- 
passed example  of  how  a  local  project  can  be  accomplished  by  local 
people. 


162  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

The  War  Memorial1 }s  Committee  Chairmen 

General  Chairman,  Philip  R.  Clarke 

Vice  Chairman,  S.  F.  Beatty 

Executive  Secretary,  Walter  M.  Sheldon 

Building  Ex-residents 

W.  B.  Burr  Horace  B.  Hench 

Finance  Outlying  Residents 

W.  H.  Regnery  J.  L.  Hench 

Real  Estate— Finance  Publicity 

Frank  Van  Inwagen  C.  R.  Kimbell 

Jury  of  Award  Fund  Raising  Campaign 

(Architectural  contest)  Philip  R.  Clarke 

W.  B.  Burr 


Those  who  enlisted  from  Fullersburg  and  Hinsdale  for  the  various 
wars: 

Black  Hawk  War,  1832 

Sherman  King 
When  Lieutenant  King  was  sent  here  as  one  of  General  Scott's  advance 
agents  in  the  Black  Hawk  uprising,  he  joined  the  volunteers  at  Naper's 
settlement  before  having  chosen  his  place  of  residence.  When  the  war 
ended  he  settled  at  Brush  Hill. 

Mexican  War,  1846-48 

No  records  have  been  found  indicating  those  who  enlisted  from  Brush 
Hill,  and  the  War  Department  lists  do  not  indicate  the  recruit's  place 
of  residence. 


Civil  War,  1861-65 


Morell  Fuller  Julius  Kurth 

Chas.  M.  Gager  Frederick  Kurth 

Henry  Hahn  John  Shultz 

Christian  Henrick  Walter  Van  Velzer 

George  Hoehn  Frederick  Werden 


SYMBOLS   OF  A    GOOD  SOCIETY  163 

The  War  with  Spain,  i8g8 


Wilson  Burt  Thomas  Murray 

Robert  W.  Childs  William  Pape 

Robert  W.  Clarke,  Jr.  William  E.  Schmidt 

Earl  S.  Dean  Howard  Scotford 

Joseph  Duncan  Alfred  Walker 
Bert  Edwards 


World  War  I,  191J-18 

For  a  list  of  the  380  citizens  who  enlisted  for  this  war,  see  the  Memorial 
War  Review,  published  in  1920  by  Post  250,  American  Legion.  The 
Public  Library  has  copies. 

World  War  II,  1941-45 

For  a  list  of  the  more  than  1,400  citizens  who  enlisted  for  this  war 
consult  the  Merrill  Printing  Company,  Hinsdale.  Mr.  C.  D.  F.  Merrill 
has  a  complete  card  file  of  all  the  participants  from  this  village. 

Hinsdale  Women  in  War  Work 

During  the  first  World  War  the  Hinsdale  Branch  of  the  Chicago 
Chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross  was  divided  into  ten  separate  de- 
partments. Church  units,  the  Junior  Red  Cross,  and  many  individuals 
contributed  sewing,  surgical  dressings,  Christmas  boxes,  and  other 
services  to  these  departments.  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Brown  was  President  of 
the  Hinsdale  Branch. 

Heading  the  departments  were:  Mrs.  T.  R.  Weddell,  sewing;  Mrs. 
L.  H.  Freer,  knitting;  Mrs.  W.  B.  McKeand,  surgical  dressings;  Mrs. 
A.  G.  Dugan,  comfort  kits;  and  Mrs.  J.  C.  Davis,  purchasing.  Miss 
Frances  Stuart  was  in  charge  of  the  stock  room. 


Red  Cross  activities  were  organized  differently  during  World  War  II 
the  work  was  more  varied  and  covered  a  wider  territory. 


164  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

The  Hinsdale  Depot,  for  the  collection  and  the  distribution  of 
things  such  as  clothing  and  dressings,  covered  all  of  DuPage  County 
and  a  part  of  Cook  County.  Mrs.  Philip  R.  Clarke  served  as  chairman 
of  this  Depot,  and  also  as  Vice  Chairman  of  the  Production  Depart- 
ment of  the  Chicago  Chapter  of  Red  Cross. 

The  large  group  known  as  Gray  Ladies  performed  many  and  varied 
services.  Mrs.  W.  W.  Kimball  was  Senior  Gray  Lady  at  Presbyterian 
and  Vaughan  Hospitals.  Mrs.  J.  E.  Eddy  was  in  charge  of  the  Ladies 
Motor  Corps  for  the  Chicago  area,  including  the  suburbs.  Mrs.  E.  P. 
Brooks  headed  the  Canteen  Corps.  Miss  Gladys  Cable,  Mrs.  James 
Walker,  Mrs.  E.  W.  Kettering,  and  Mrs.  C.  R.  Osborn  were  instru- 
mental in  equipping  the  music  rooms  at  Vaughan  and  Hines  veterans 
hospitals. 

The  village  did  its  part  toward  keeping  the  Chicago  Service  Men's 
Centers  supplied  with  food.  A  booth  was  maintained  at  the  Hinsdale 
railroad  station  for  this  purpose,  tended  largely  by  girls  from  the  high 
school. 

The  high  school  girls  helped  in  other  ways:  Under  the  direction 
of  Mrs.  Robert  Foley  Smith  they  learned  to  care  for  children  while 
mothers  engaged  in  war  work.  Mrs.  Hugh  Dugan  organized  a  group 
of  Junior  Red  Cross  girls  to  serve  as  nurses'  helpers. 


There  is  the  Village  Caucus.  Under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Wade 
Fetzer,  this  method  of  selecting  candidates  for  village  offices  was 
adopted  in  1934,  and  regardless  of  certain  imperfections  that  might  be 
expected  in  any  new  governmental  departure,  the  caucus  system  is 
working  satisfactorily.  This  is  a  favorable  reflection  on  the  character  of 
the  citizenry,  for  it  is  known  to  function  effectually  only  in  those  mu- 
nicipalities in  which  high  standards  of  administration  are  the  rule. 
The  caucus  has  eliminated  the  catch-as-catch-can  characteristic  from 
local  political  elections.  It  has  created  an  atmosphere  in  which  the 
office  seeks  the  man,  instead  of  vice-versa. 


Hinsdale's  per  capita  representation  in  the  services  for  both  world 
wars  was  near  the  top,  according  to  national  estimates. 


SYMBOLS   OF  A    GOOD  SOCIETY  165 

A  large  number  of  Hinsdale  women  have  found  time  from  their 
household  duties  to  serve  the  community  in  some  capacity  in  peace 
time.  The  History  Committee  does  not  attempt  to  draw  distinctions  or 
to  list  some  as  being  more  worthy  of  recognition  than  others. 


We  salute  Mr.  William  H.  Regnery  for  helping  the  village  acquire 
the  fine  Post  Office  building  that  was  erected  in  1939  at  such  an  agree- 
able location. 


Mr.  Charles  O.  Ring,  a  battalion  chief  of  Hinsdale's  Fire  Department. 
At  the  end  of  40  years  of  service  he  was  awarded  a  gold  medal  as 
Honorary  Chief  by  the  Village  Trustees,  and  his  exceptional  services 
were  similarly  recognized  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 


The  noteworthy  gesture  of  Mr.  C.  D.  F.  Merrill  in  sending  The  Hins- 
dale Doings  to  every  man  and  woman  from  the  village  who  served  in 
the  recent  war,  every  week,  and  for  the  entire  duration. 


Hinsdale  has  owned  and  operated  its  electric  light  and  water  plant 
over  a  long  period  of  time,  at  reasonable  rates,  and  with  never  a  ques- 
tion having  been  raised  concerning  disposition  of  the  profits  derived 
therefrom. 


In  the  purposes  and  in  the  enjoyments  of  life,  the  village,  and  its 
vicinity,  has  seen  much  fulfillment  and  realization.  What  does  the 
future  hold,  and  on  what  does  it  depend? 

When  Robert  Jones,  John  Monell,  and  Grove  Lawrence  bought 
this  land  from  the  Government,  which  had  acquired  it  from  the  red 
man,  they  did  not  forsee  the  thriving  villages  of  Hinsdale  and  Claren- 
don Hills.  When  Orente  Grant  built  his  Castle  Inn  it  was  in  the  first 
faint  dawn  of  the  region's  place  in  the  American  scene.  Westward  em- 
igrants took  the  cue  and  settled  along  the  "Little  Aux  Plaines."  They 


166  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

surveyed  these  rolling  hills  and  found  them  good.  They  too,  could  not 
look  far  into  the  future,  but  they  were  willing  to  venture,  and  to  place 
reliance  in  themselves.  They  were  unquestioned  exponents  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  venture  investment. 

But  the  pioneering  spirit  was  not  confined  to  the  first  arrivals.  It 
continued  with  Marvin  Fox,  Alfred  Walker,  Anson  Ayres,  William 
Robbins,  and  Oliver  Stough.  These  also  had  faith.  They  had  confi- 
dence in  the  locality,  in  themselves,  and  in  their  abilities  to  develop 
the  region  of  which  their  lands  were  part.  Soon  they  were  to  be  joined 
by  the  Warrens,  the  Lincolns,  the  Websters,  the  Bankers,  and  the  hosts 
to  follow.  They  likewise  carried  on  in  the  same  tradition. 

As  we  arrive  at  this  milestone  of  Nineteen  Hundred  and  Forty 
Nine,  the  village  has  passed  the  eight  thousand  mark  in  population. 
Among  our  neighbors  we  find  a  large  government-owned  laboratory, 
and  privately  owned  factories.  Janus-like,  we  look  back,  while  peering 
ahead.  Behind,  there  is  inspiration.  In  the  future  there  is  hope;  because 
the  spirit  of  the  pioneer,  the  spirit  of  independence,  and  the  spirit  of 
self-reliance  is  among  us  still. 


chapter  x      The  Pivots  of  Village  Life 


By  mutual  confidence  and  mutual  aid  great  deeds 
are   done,    and   great   discoveries   made.  —  Pope 


THE  SPOKES  of  a  wheel  rotate  about  its  axle  to  carry  the  vehicle 
along  its  way,  over  surfaces  smooth  or  rough,  in  fair  weather  or 
foul.  Similarly,  there  are  axes  or  pivots  in  the  life  of  a  village,  about 
which  the  activities  of  its  citizens  revolve:  the  government,  the  church, 
the  club,  the  charity.  Let  us  start  with  the  village  government,  and 
then  review  briefly  those  civic  organizations  that  are  considered  to  be 
permanent. 

Village  Government 

During  the  first  thirty  years  after  incorporation,  the  work  of  the  Vil- 
lage Trustees  was  largely  of  two  kinds:  the  planning  and  execution  of 
physical  improvements,  and  the  establishment  of  rules  and  regulations, 
or  ordinances,  designed  to  protect  the  citizen  and  to  prevent  his  tres- 
passing on  the  rights  of  his  neighbor.  Village  improvements  were  to 
continue  indefinitely,  and  the  passage  of  ordinances  as  well,  but  by  the 
year  1 895  there  had  accumulated  a  large  number  of  rules  and  orders 
in  council  that  were  in  need  of  revision  and  bringing  up  to  date.  The 
accumulation  had  not  been  an  orderly  one,  the  reason  being  that 
there  was  no  village  attorney  until  1 890  because  no  provision  had  been 
made  for  that  office.  In  that  year,  however,  Linus  C.  Ruth  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  office,  and  he  soon  convinced  the  Board  of  the  necessity 
of  revising  the  village  statutes.  Several  years  passed  before  the  task 
was  completed,  but  finally,  in  1895,  the  trustees  were  able  to  publish 
in  one  compact  booklet  the  Revised  General  Ordinances  of  the  Village 
of  Hinsdale. 

Some  of  these  ordinances  have  remained  in  force,  with  but  little 
change,  up  to  the  present  time.  Others  relate  exclusively  to  the  by-gone 

*  Most  of  the  information  for  this  chapter  was  furnished  by  the  organizations  concerned. 

i67 


168  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

era,  and  have  long  since  been  repealed.  Today  they  hold  interest 
merely  as  antiques.  For  instance— 

"No  cow,  horse,  colt,  mule,  bull,  ox,  calf,  swine,  sheep,  goat,  asses,  or  cattle  of 
any  kind  shall  be  permitted  to  run  at  large  within  the  Village  of  Hins- 
dale   " 

According  to  news  items  of  the  day,  this  was  a  much  needed  ordi- 
nance. 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  pound  master  of  said  village  to  take  up  any  such 
animal  or  animals  found  running  at  large  as  aforesaid,  and  confine  same  in  a 
pound  provided  for  that  purpose  .  .  .  ." 

"It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  or  corporation  to  construct  within  the  limits 
of  said  village  any  fence  composed  wholly  or  in  part  of  barbed  wire 

"The  base  or  datum  for  the  levels  of  the  Village  of  Hinsdale,  is  hereby  fixed 
at  the  plane  of  low  water-mark  of  Lake  Michigan  in  the  year  1847,  as  established 
by  the  Trustees  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  which  plane  is  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven— feet  below  the  top  of  the  N.E.  corner  of  the  stone  door- 
sill  of  the  entrance  to  the  brick  base  of  the  water  tower 

This  was  the  tall,  cylindric  water  tower  that  stood  on  the  Garfield 
hill  just  north  of  the  School  building. 

"Any  person  who  shall  use  any  sport  or  exercise  likely  to  scare  horses,  injure 
passengers  or  embarrass  the  passage  of  vehicles,  shall  be  subject  to  a  fine 

The  1 895  Ordinances  set  forth  66  regulations  pertaining  to  plumb- 
ers, having  to  do  with  such  things  as  the  quality  and  weight  of  pipe, 
the  location  of  catch  basins,  etc. 

Planks  for  sidewalk  were  specified  to  be  five  feet,  four  inches  long 
and  two  inches  thick. 

"All  shade  or  ornamental  trees  shall  be  planted  at  least  two  feet  from  the  edge 
of  the  sidewalk." 

In  many  instances,  time  has  demonstrated  two  feet  to  have  been 
too  close.  Many  of  the  trees  that  were  planted  as  saplings  have  grown 
to  such  size  as  to  crack  or  raise  the  cement  walks. 

The  Ordinances  of  1 895  prescribed  the  duties  and  compensation 
of  various  village  officials,  and  provided  for  the  repeal  of  all  previous 
ordinances. 

The  early  ordinances,  of  course,  were  modified  from  time  to  time, 
the  last  complete  revision  having  been  made  in  1935  by  Village  At- 
torney Malcolm  Mecartney.  In  addition  to  the  listing  of  laws  and  regu- 


THE  PIVOTS   OF   VILLAGE  LIFE  169 

lations,  this  revised  code  book  includes  an  outline  of  the  village  offices, 
departments,  and  commissions.  They  appear  in  this  order: 

Village  Offices  and  Departments 

President  of  the  Board 


The  Board  of  Trustees 
(6  members) 


Village  Clerk  Superintendent  of  Utilities 

Village  Treasurer  Department  of  Public  Works 

Village  Collector  Chief  Electrical  Inspector 

Village  Attorney  Purchasing  Agent 

Police  Department  Police  Magistrate 

Fire  Department  Poundmaster 


Boards  and  Commissions 

Electrical  Commission  -      Library  Board 

Plan  Commission  Board  of  Local  Improvements 

Utilities  Commission  Police  Pension  Board 

In  general,  each  title  is  descriptive  of  the  purpose  of  the  office,  the 
board  or  commission.  The  Electrical  Commission  recommends  and 
effects  changes  in  the  code  governing  wiring  installations.  The  Plan 
Commission  has  jurisdiction  over  subdivisions  of  land,  and  is  advisory 
on  questions  of  zoning.  The  Board  of  Local  Improvement,  which  has 
been  in  existence  since  1882,  functions  in  the  initiation  and  supply  of 
municipal  facilities  such  as  water  mains  and  sidewalks.  The  Police 
Pension  Board  supervises  the  police  pension  fund.  The  Department, 
the  public,  and  the  pensioners  are  represented  on  this  board.  The 
Library  Board  maintains  the  Public  Library  with  tax  money  collected 
for  that  purpose,  and  with  gifts  from  the  Friends  of  the  Library,  and 
from  individuals.  A  newly  created  Utilities  Commission  is  advisory 
to  the  President  and  his  Board  on  questions  concerning  the  water 
and  electrical  equipment  and  supply. 

Four  of  these  governing  units,  Electrical,  Plan,  Local  Improve- 
ment, and  Library,  were  created  under  state  statutes  applicable  to 


170  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

villages  generally.  All  members  of  boards  and  commissions  serve  with- 
out pay. 

Municipal  management  is  effected  largely  through  a  system  of 
committees,  each  member  of  the  Village  Board  serving  as  chairman 
of  a  committee.  A  Village  Manager,  recently  employed,  is  expected 
to  act  as  general  executor  for  the  President  and  his  Board.  He  will 
function  under  duties  and  responsibilities  of  a  more  specific  nature 
than  were  those  of  the  Village  Manager  back  in  the  1920's. 

The  President  and  his  Board  meet  twice  each  month.  Board  meet- 
ings are  open  to  the  public  and  on  many  occasions  have  been  attended 
by  individuals  or  groups,  to  plead  a  cause,  or  to  introduce  some  kind 
of  business  for  the  Board's  attention.  Occasionally,  some  citizen  is 
asked  to  appear  before  the  Board. 

The  utilities,  other  than  gas  and  telephone  services,  are  owned  and 
operated  by  the  village.  Operation  of  the  water  and  electric  plant 
usually  nets  a  profit,  and  this  goes  to  the  general  village  fund,  for  gen- 
eral municipal  purposes.  A  Comptroller,  whose  office  includes  the 
function  of  village  collector,  accounts  for  these  and  other  public  funds. 

Public  offices,  including  those  of  the  School  Board,  are  filled 
through  a  village  Caucus.  Membership  in  the  Caucus  is  open  to  all  the 
established  civic,  religious  and  cultural  organizations,  and  to  seven 
designated  sections  of  the  village.  At  present,  the  Caucus  has  about  90 
members.  A  membership  is  of  two  years  duration,  and  it  may  be  re- 
newed. 

The  Churches 

There  are  eleven  churches  within  the  village  limits,  or  one  church  for 
about  every  700  persons.  Following  a  survey  of  Hinsdale  churches  that 
was  conducted  by  the  research  department  of  the  Chicago  Theological 
Seminary  in  1944,  these  further  statistics  concerning  them  are  avail- 
able : 

Total  membership 3*564 

Members  who  live  outside  of  Hinsdale 

(per  cent  of  total) 15.8 

Between  1931  and  the  time  of  the  survey,  church  membership  in- 
creased in  all  but  two  of  the  institutions,   and  the  total  increase 


THE  PIVOTS   OF   VILLAGE  LIFE  171 

amounted  to  32.2%  for  the  twelve  year  period.  During  almost  the 
same  period  (1930-1940)  the  population  of  persons  21  and  over  in- 
creased 10.5%. 

The  Sunday  School  enrollment  decreased  21.8%  between  1931 
and  1943.  The  population  of  those  under  21  decreased  2.6%  between 
1930  and  1940. 

Chronologically,  the  churches  are  listed  in  this  order: 

UNION— Theodore  K.  Vogler,  Minister 

The  Congregationalists  organized  themselves  into  a  church  August  12,  1866. 
C.  M.  Saunders,  a  student  at  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  conducted 
the  first  services,  in  the  railroad  station.  He  was  ordained  in  April,  1867.  Dur- 
ing his  two  years  ministry  thirty-five  members  were  added  to  the  original 
number,  and  the  stone  school  house  became  the  place  of  worship.  After  the 
Baptist  Church  was  erected  on  First  Street,  the  Congregationalists  shared 
their  building,  until  construction  of  the  first  Congregational  Church  build- 
ing was  under  way,  on  the  Garfield  hill,  across  from  the  school. 

Other  early  ministers  were  Reverend  Flavel  Bascomb,  and  Reverend  J.  W. 
Hartshorne.  In  1916  the  Congregationalists  joined  with  the  Presbyterians  to 
form  the  Union  Church.  Thereafter,  the  present  modern  building  replaced 
the  first  church  edifice. 

BAPTIST— C.  Raymond  Johnson,  Pastor 

A  Baptist  Church  was  organized  in  Hinsdale  in  1868.  For  several  months  it 
had  no  pastor,  and,  as  is  true  of  most  of  the  churches,  no  record  of  its  early 
years  has  been  preserved.  In  October,  1869,  Reverend  James  Lisk  accepted  an 
invitation  to  the  pastorate  and  soon  began  services,  in  the  waiting  room  of  the 
depot.  Shortly  the  Baptists  erected  a  large  frame  church  at  First  and  Garfield 
(Page  84)  where  services  were  held  jointly  with  the  Congregationalists  for 
a  number  of  years,  until,  by  mutual  consent,  the  arrangement  was  discon- 
tinued. 

The  large  frame  building  proved  a  heavy  financial  burden,  and  was  aban- 
doned to  other  purposes.  The  congregation  became  inactive  until  1904,  when 
the  church  was  reorganized.  It  is  now  a  member  of  the  Swedish  Baptist  Con- 
vention, and  for  many  years  has  occupied  the  building  at  11  N.  Lincoln.  This 
is  the  former  Stough  Hall,  one  of  Hinsdale's  most  venerable  buildings. 

UNITARIAN-Raymond  H.  Palmer,  Minister 

The  first  Unitarian  Church  was  built  in  1870  By  Mr.  O.  J.  Stough,  on  a  lot 
just  west  of  the  present  one.  No  meetings  were  held  there  after  1877,  and  the 
building  burned  in  1882. 

On  March  27,  1887,  a  group  of  thirty  persons  met  in  the  Music  Hall  (the 
former  Baptist  Church)  to  consider  another  church  union.  Thereafter,  a 
canvass  of  the  town  having  proved  it  advisable,  a  meeting  was  held  and  the 


172  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Unity  Church  of  Hinsdale  was  organized.  Later,  the  name  was  changed  to  the 
Unitarian  Church  of  Hinsdale.  The  following  Sunday,  thirty-four  persons 
signed  the  Church  Book  and  became  members.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year 
there  were  fifty-three  members. 

A  church  building  was  begun  in  1888,  and  was  dedicated  in  January  1889. 
This  had  been  made  possible  by  the  donation  of  a  lot  and  $5,000  by  Mr. 
Stough,  and  by  other  subscriptions.  In  this  building,  services  have  been  held 
regularly  ever  since,  except  for  two  years  during  World  War  I. 

EPISCOPAL-Donald  H.  V.  Hallock,  Minister 

In  the  spring  of  1873  a  few  citizens  met  at  the  house  of  D.  J.  Crocker  to  organize 
the  Grace  Episcopal  Sunday  School,  of  which  Mr.  J.  F.  Stuart  was  chosen 
Superintendent,  and  which  formed  the  foundation  of  the  parish  which  was 
organized  in  March  1875.  Easter  services  had  been  held,  previous  to  this  date, 
in  the  uncompleted  Congregational  Church.  Soon  the  services  of  N.  F.  Tuson 
were  engaged,  and  he  served  for  one  year.  Other  early,  part-time,  ministers 
were  Reverend  Mr.  Fisk,  Reverend  D.  F.  Smith,  Mr.  Perry,  and  Mr.  Lewis. 

Some  of  the  early  services  were  held  in  the  old  Baptist  Church  building, 
others  in  Stough's  Hall;  a  few  in  private  homes.  Concerts  and  musicals  helped 
to  raise  funds  for  the  church  building,  erected  on  land  donated  by  Mr.  William 
Robbins.  The  building  has  expanded,  a  little  at  a  time,  to  its  present  propor- 
tions. 

ZION  EVANGELICAL  LUTHERAN-P.  H.  Scheer,  Pastor 

Services  were  started  in  the  Fullersburg  school  house  in  November,  1888,  and 
in  April  of  the  following  year  a  constitution  was  adopted.  In  the  same  year 
the  congregation  purchased  a  lot  and  erected  its  first  church,  at  the  corner  of 
Vine  and  Second  Streets.  The  present  building,  at  the  southwest  corner  of 
Grant  and  Second,  was  dedicated  in  1915.  A  pamphlet,  The  Informant  is  pub- 
lished each  month,  telling  of  Church  activities. 

EVANGELICAL  MISSION  COVENANT-A.  Vernoy  Peterson,  Pastor 

The  Scandinavians,  like  other  groups,  at  first  met  in  private  homes  before 
establishing  their  Church,  which  was  completed  in  1889.  For  a  time  there-  ¥ 
after  the  group  was  associated  with  the  Congregationalists.  In  1918  the  mem- 
bers affiliated  themselves  with  the  Evangelical  Mission  Covenant  Conference. 
In  1930  an  attractive  Church  was  built  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Garfield, 
one  of  the  newest  religious  buildings. 

IMMANUEL-D.  G.  Passman,  Pastor 

In  1898  there  was  a  peaceful  division  within  the  Fullersburg  Church  when 
members  from  Hinsdale  expressed  the  desire  to  have  a  church  closer  to  home. 
Until  1900  the  group  met  in  a  small  hall  in  Hinsdale,  and  the  same  minister 
served  both  congregations  until  the  new  Church  obtained  a  pastor  of  its  own. 
In  that  year  the  Church  at  Third  and  Grant  was  built,  and  in  1908  a  parsonage 
was  added. 


THE  PIVOTS   OF   VILLAGE  LIFE  173 

SEVENTH  DAY  ADVENTISTS-Lawrence  R.  Scott,  Pastor 

This  is  the  group  that  established  the  Hinsdale  Sanitarium  and  Hospital,  in 
the  year  1905,  in  the  Highlands.  To  accommodate  the  staff  and  others  of  this 
faith,  the  Church  was  established  and  facilities  for  worship  were  provided, 
within  the  sanitarium  building.  For  many  years  the  Adventists  operated  the 
Rescue  Home  near-by,  a  refuge  for  unadjusted  young  people.  A  new  Church 
building  was  recently  completed,  at  Oak  and  Walnut. 

REDEEMER  LUTHERAN-C.  F.  Dankworth,  Pastor 

This  Church  is  an  off-shoot  from  the  Zion  Lutheran.  It  was  organized  in  1922, 
and  for  the  first  few  years  a  suitable  Church  sanctuary  was  devised  within  a 
leased  building.  In  1925  the  group  joined  the  English  District  of  the  Missouri 
Synod.  Two  years  later  the  new  Church-building  at  First  and  Blaine  was 
finished  and  occupied. 

CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  SCIENTIST 

In  the  spring  of  1931,  the  members  of  this  faith  who  resided  in  Hinsdale,  or- 
ganized themselves  into  the  Christian  Science  Society  of  Hinsdale.  On  Sep- 
tember 12,  1931,  this  Society  was  recognized  as  a  branch  of  the  Mother  Church, 
and  was  incorporated  in  1938.  Regular  services  have  been  held  in  the  audi- 
torium of  the  Monroe  School.  The  Church  owns  a  building  site,  and  plans  for 
the  building  are  in  preparation.  A  reading  room,  which  is  open  to  the  public, 
is  maintained  at  14  W.  First  Street. 

SAINT  ISAAC  JOGUES-J.  T.  Farrel,  Pastor 

This  Church,  of  the  Catholic  faith,  also  was  established  in  1931,  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Order  of  Dominican  Fathers.  The  Hinsdale  Theatre  served 
as  the  first  meeting  place,  where  services  were  continued  for  a  year.  Services 
next  were  held  at  16  E.  First  Street  as  temporary  quarters,  where  the  con- 
gregation was  served  by  traveling  monks.  The  present  Church,  at  425  S.  Clay, 
is  a  two  story  structure  with  the  parochial  school  on  the  second  floor.  It  was 
built  in  1932. 

In  five  of  Hinsdale's  churches  the  services  at  first  were  conducted 
in  a  foreign  language.  As  the  younger  people  of  these  parishes  grew  up 
and  gradually  acquired  control,  the  English  language  ultimately  was 
adopted  in  all  five  churches.  This  change  came  about  during  the  period 
1910-1920. 

All  the  churches  have  Sunday  Schools,  or  Church  Schools,  as  they 
are  called  by  some.  Most  of  them  have  women's  organizations  and  other 
groups  doing  auxiliary  work  in  the  service  of  the  church.  Three  of  the 
churches  maintain  parochial  schools  in  the  elementary  grades;  these 
are  the  Catholic,  the  Lutheran,  and  the  Seventh  Day  Adventist  schools. 


174  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

The  Public  Schools 

The  Hinsdale  school  system  had  its  beginning  in  the  stone  school  house 
that  was  erected  at  Third  and  Main  (Garfield)  by  William  Robbins 
in  1866.  In  the  two  lower  rooms  of  this  structure  a  Miss  Stocking  con- 
ducted the  classes  until  the  autumn  of  1867,  when  it  was  organized  into 
a  public  school,  as  a  part  of  the  Fullersburg  School  District,  with  Mr. 
B.  F.  Banker  as  Principal.  As  Directors  of  the  school,  these  men  were 
chosen:  W.  R.  Banker,  E.  P.  Hinds,  and  B.  Plummer.  Soon  the  build- 
ing was  purchased  by  the  village  from  Mr.  Robbins,  and  the  South 
side  of  town  was  formed  into  a  separate  school  district.  A  Mr.  Gleason 
then  became  principal.  In  1 877,  while  Mr.  P.  A.  Downey  was  Principal, 
the  North  side  was  incorporated  into  the  district,  and  it  was  then  called 
the  Hinsdale  School  District. 

During  the  year  1879  the  stone  building  was  enlarged.  Mr.  A.  R. 
Robinson  became  Principal  in  that  year,  and  during  his  administra- 
tion the  school  was  employing  the  services  of  five  teachers.  Mr.  Robin- 
son was  followed  by  E.  L.  Harpham  and  others. 

In  1893  the  building  became  a  total  loss,  by  fire.  As  a  result,  school 
was  held  temporarily  in  churches  and  halls  of  the  village.  In  1887  the 
North  Side  School  was  erected  on  Maple  Street,  and  a  new  South  Side 
School  was  built  in  1 894.  The  latter  is  known  as  the  Garfield  School, 
and  it  has  received  many  improvements  and  additions  throughout  the 
years,  including  two  wings  which  were  added  in  1909.  It  then  required 
the  services  of  1 6  teachers.  In  the  same  year  the  North  Side  School  em- 
ployed 7  teachers. 

Not  all  of  the  minutes  of  the  various  boards  of  education  have  been 
preserved,  but  the  casual  reader  may  pick  up  threads  of  history,  which 
may  be  pieced  together  in  fairly  consecutive  order.  Economies,  salaries, 
teachers'  housing,  the  collection  of  tax  monies,  and  modern  improve- 
ments were  problems  confronting  the  citizens  who  managed  the  school 
in  each  decade. 

In  1892,  $60  organs  were  purchased  for  the  primary  and  inter- 
mediate grades,  and  a  $275  piano  for  the  high  school.  An  admission 
fee  was  charged  for  reserved  seats  at  the  commencement  exercises.  A 
school  census  was  made  at  a  cost  of  $15.  Teachers  were  paid  $55  a 
month,  only  while  school  was  in  session,  but  this  rate  of  pay  was  in- 


THE  PIVOTS   OF   VILLAGE  LIFE  175 

creased  $2  per  month  two  years  later.  Coal  was  purchased  at  $2.55  a 
ton. 

In  1893  algebra  was  introduced  into  the  high  school.  A  sewing 
class  was  to  be  added  in  the  South  Side  School,  but  this  project  was 
abandoned  owing  to  the  expense. 

In  1895  Mr.  J.  M.  Frost  was  made  Superintendent  of  Schools  at  a 
salary  of  $1,400.  The  following  year  it  was  difficult  to  pay  bills  because 
tax  collections  were  slow,  following  the  business  recession  of  1893. 

The  Womans'  Club,  in  1897,  donated  $50  to  the  board  to  lit  out  a 
room  for  manual  training.  The  board  added  $  1 00  worth  of  tools.  Later, 
the  Womans'  Club  gave  $  1  o  for  reference  books. 

By  1902  the  school  tax  levy  was  $16,000  and  the  building  tax  levy 
$3,000.  Although  Mr.  Frost's  salary  was  increased  some,  he  decided  to 
accept  another  position,  whereupon  the  board  paid  tribute  to  his  seven 
years  of  service  in  a  "properly  engrossed"  resolution  which  read  in 
part,  "He  has  brought  order  out  of  chaos."  Mr.  H.  K.  Jokish  became 
Superintendent  in  1904,  to  be  followed  by  H.  E.  Giles,  and  others. 

Teachers  in  the  public  schools  who  linger  in  the  memories  of 
those  of  their  older  students  who  are  still  living  are,  the  Misses  Bailey, 
Blodgett,  Boujan,  Boyd,  Hattendorf,  Hinckley,  Irish,  Lairison,  and 
Loomis. 

Following  the  year  1905,  school  developments  included  these, 
among  many  others: 

A  donation  of  furniture  to  the  North  Side  School  by  the  Womans' 
Club,  and  a  flag  pole  by  the  Village  League. 

By  1918  the  school  enrollment  had  reached  506. 

The  Parent-Teachers  Association  instituted  a  lunch  room  for  stu- 
dents. 

In  192 1  a  salary  schedule,  based  on  certain  specified  requirements, 
was  drawn  up. 

The  Madison  School  was  acquired  in  1923. 

Monroe  School  was  built  during  the  latter  twenties. 

The  widespread  depression  of  the  thirties  brought  curtailment  of 
expenses  and  a  reduction  in  personnel,  but  since  1935  expansion  has 
continued  in  teaching  personnel,  in  enrollment,  and  in  facilities  for 
education.  The  high  school  district  has  been  extended  to  include 
Clarendon  Hills  and  Westmont. 

Today  the  Hinsdale  Public  Schools  consist  of  Garfield,  Madison, 


176  VILLAGE   ON    THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Monroe,  and  Clarendon  Hills  elementary  schools,  a  junior  high  school 
on  Maple  Street,  and  the  high  school  on  Washington.  A  new  high 
school  is  under  construction.  There  is  a  dual  system  of  school  boards, 
one  for  the  grade  schools,  including  junior  high,  and  one  for  the  high 
school.  Members  of  the  boards  are  nominated  by  the  caucus  and  elected 
by  the  people. 

.££.  JA.  Jt. 

"A*  "f"  "A* 

Back  in  1914  the  Parent-Teachers  Association  began  to  appear  in  the 
local  news.  The  PTA  Council  now  is  made  up  of  representatives  from 
each  of  the  schools.  Both  of  the  PTA  groups,  grade  school  and  high 
school,  are  members  of  the  national  PTA  organization. 

At  the  turn  of  the  century  the  word  ''chaos"  was  used  in  a  school 
board  resolution,  as  descriptive  of  a  state  from  which  the  schools  had 
been  delivered.  Concurrently  with  the  functioning  of  PTA,  the  word 
has  not  appeared  since. 

The  Library  and  Its  Friends 

The  Hinsdale  Public  Library  began  as  the  Hinsdale  Library  Associa- 
tion, which  was  incorporated  during  the  winter  of  1886-87.  The  in- 
corporators and  first  directors  of  the  Association  were  Mrs.  John  H. 
Bradley,  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Childs,  Miss  Mary  Hannah,  Dr.  D.  K.  Pearsons, 
Mr.  Demming  H.  Preston,  Mrs.  C.  D.  Snow,  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Warren. 
Soon,  six  hundred  books  were  donated  to  the  Association,  and  a  fee 
of  one  dollar  a  year  was  charged  for  the  privilege  of  drawing  them  out. 

There  are  two  versions  concerning  the  first  location  of  this  set  of 
books.  According  to  one,  they  were  placed  in  the  residence  of  Mrs. 
C.  D.  Snow  at  Washington  and  Third.  Others  say  the  start  was  made  in 
a  small  building  on  the  north  side  of  First  Street,  west  of  Washington. 
There  is  unanimity  of  opinion  that  the  Library  moved  from  one  of 
these  places  to  the  store  of  Mr.  George  Prouty,  which  was  in  the  build- 
ing now  numbered '37  So.  Washington  Street.  The  first  Librarian  was 
Miss  Wilsden,  who  later  became  Mrs.  Van  Liew. 

In  1892  the  question  of  tax  support  of  the  Library  came  before  the 
voters  and  it  received  a  favorable  decision.  That  year  also  marks  the 
beginning  of  public  election  of  officers  and  members  of  the  board. 
Following  these  events,  the  Library  Association  was  dissolved.  It  had 
served  its  purpose  well. 


THE  PIVOTS   OF   VILLAGE  LIFE  177 

Mrs.  Flora  Candee  became  Librarian,  to  be  followed  by  Mrs.  L.  C. 
Ruth  who  served  in  that  position  for  many  years.  She  had  various 
assistants,  among  whom  was  Miss  Alice  Warren.  The  next  move  of  the 
Library  took  place  in  1917,  to  the  Davidson  Building,  106  S.  Wash- 
ington. From  there  it  went  to  the  Memorial  Building,  its  present  home. 


During  the  winter  of  1937-38,  four  women  met  occasionally  to  talk 
over  the  possibilities  of  strengthening  the  Library  for  a  more  vital  con- 
tribution to  community  life.  They  were  Mrs.  Paul  Burt,  Mrs.  Hugh 
Dugan,  Mrs.  Harold  Moore,  and  Miss  Marcia  Wheeler,  Librarian. 
Eventually,  plans  for  organization  were  drawn  up  and  presented  to 
various  civic  groups  and  others  for  approval.  The  Friends  of  the 
Library  became  an  organization  on  April  28,  1938. 

The  Friends  became  just  what  the  name  implies,  a  group  of  persons 
who  are  interested  in  the  Library's  welfare  and  who  are  ready  to  help 
it  toward  increasing  its  resources  and  promoting  its  services.  The 
Friends  has  furthered  projects  such  as  the  obtaining  of  memorial  be- 
quests to  the  Library,  the  purchase  of  new  books,  and  the  issuance  of 
leaflets  describing  the  Library's  services. 


A,  F.  &  A.  M.  Lodge 

Hinsdale  Lodge,  A,F.  ir  A.  M.,  No.  649,  under  dispensation  granted 
in  1870,  held  its  first  meeting  in  the  upper  room  of  the  stone  "acad- 
emy." Three  years  later  it  moved  to  quarters  on  Washington  Street, 
down  town.  The  original  organizers  of  the  Lodge  were  D.  A.  Courter, 
J.  M.  Barr,  and  N.  H.  Warren. 


The  Veterans  Groups 

Hinsdale  Post  250  of  the  American  Legion  has  an  unusually  large 
membership,  as  compared  with  the  town's  population.  Most  of  the 
Legionaires  served  in  one  of  the  two  world  wars,  but  its  roster  includes 
a  few  veterans  of  the  Spanish  War. 

This  Post  was  organized  in  1919,  with  Mr.  C.  G.  Dennison  as  its 
first  Commander,  in  Evernden's  Hall.  Soon  thereafter,  headquarters 


178  VILLAGE   ON    THE   COUNTY  LINE 

were  moved  to  the  Grace  Church  Guild  Hall,  where  the  Post  continued 
to  meet  until  completion  of  the  Memorial  Building  in  1928.  Growth, 
through  service,  has  marked  the  history  of  the  Post.  Its  activities  have 
been  extensive  and  useful,  especially  in  the  causes  of  Americanization, 
the  interests  of  disabled  and  needy  veterans,  the  village  Fourth  of  July 
celebrations,  and  participation  in  other  local  projects.  Sociability  and 
good  fellowship  has  been  always  a  feature  of  membership  in  the  Post. 
Aside  from  the  regular  business  meetings,  there  are  regular  and  special 
social  gatherings,  including  the  annual  dinner  for  Past  Commanders 
held  on  November  1 1  each  year,  and  the  annual  home-coming  in  May. 
The  Post's  influence  in  the  village  has  been  a  good  one,  and  it  takes  its 
part  in  the  county,  state,  and  national  Legion  organizations. 

In  January,  1920  the  Legion  Auxiliary  was  organized,  with  117 
charter  members,  and  with  Mrs.  Gertrude  Ketcham  as  its  first  Presi- 
dent. The  Legion  and  the  Auxiliary  cooperate  closely  in  furtherance 
of  their  joint  objectives.  Largely,  the  Auxiliary  is  concerned  with  the 
rehabilitation  and  other  needs  of  disabled  veterans,  this  work  being 
carried  on  through  sewing,  financial  contributions,  the  Veterans  Craft 
Shop  in  Chicago,  child  welfare,  visits  to  hospitals,  and  the  annual  sale 
of  poppies.  The  Auxiliary  also  contributes  to  other  local  charities. 


The  Veterans  Civic  Association,  consisting  largely  of  young  men  who 
took  part  in  World  War  II,  aims  toward  comradeship  through  the 
association  of  persons  of  similar  experience  and  outlook,  and  to  take 
its  place  in  community  service.  At  this  time  the  group's  program  is  not 
fully  developed.  Mr.  Philip  Cochran  was  the  first  President.  The  Asso- 
ciation meets  in  the  Memorial  Building. 


The  Veterans  of  Foreign  Wars,  a  well-known  national  organization, 
has  recently  become  established  in  Hinsdale  under  the  leadership  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Spears.  The  membership  of  this  Post  consists  of  men  who 
served  overseas  in  the  various  wars.  The  purposes  and  functions  of  the 
Post,  and  those  of  the  V.  F.  W.  Auxiliary,  are  similar  to  those  of  the 
American  Legion  and  its  Auxiliary.  Meetings  are  held  in  the  Com- 
munity House. 


THE  PIVOTS   OF   VILLAGE  LIFE  179 


The  Charities 

Hinsdale  Community  Service.  Organized  in  1936,  this  is  the  principal 
agency  for  local  relief.  It  serves  the  Hinsdale  Township  High  School 
area.  The  Village  has  provided  an  office  in  the  Memorial  Building. 
Since  its  inception,  Mrs.  H.  C.  Holzbach  has  been  in  charge  of  the 
Service.  Sixteen  members  comprise  the  Board  of  Directors. 

The  main  divisions  of  the  work  are:  Employment,  the  collection 
and  distribution  of  Christmas  baskets,  emergency  relief,  rehabilita- 
tion, optical,  dental,  and  medical.  Information  for  veterans  may  be 
obtained  there,  and  the  office  is  also  the  permanent  headquarters  for 
the  Hinsdale  Community  Chest. 

During  the  second  World  War  years  the  Hinsdale  Community  Serv- 
ice was  headquarters  for  the  Office  of  Civilian  Defence.  The  Service 
collaborates  with  other  agencies  in  the  reference  and  handling  of 
cases.  For  many  years  Mr.  Harold  G.  Townsend  has  been  the  leading 
spirit  in  this  service. 


In  common  with  other  towns  and  villages,  Hinsdale  has  always  par- 
ticipated in  the  outside  charities,  especially  in  support  of  the  following 
causes: 

Infant  Welfare.  In  1915  the  Infant  Welfare  Society  of  Hinsdale  be- 
gan functioning,  with  Mrs.  J.  C.  Davis  as  its  President.  This  group 
sews  and  raises  money  for  Chicago  infants  who  come  into  the  world 
in  need  of  more  care  than  their  parents  are  able  to  give. 

By  1923  the  need  was  felt  of  younger  women's  participation  in  the 
work,  so  Junior  Infant  Welfare  was  formally  organized  in  1925,  with 
Mrs.  John  Parker  as  President,  and  the  younger  women  have  been 
most  active  ever  since.  In  addition  to  performing  some  of  the  same 
functions  as  the  senior  group,  the  Juniors  actively  participate  in  the 
work  at  Burlington  Welfare  Station  in  Chicago,  and  they  supervise 
and  conduct  certain  concessions  at  the  annual  Oak  Brook  Horse  Show, 
the  proceeds  from  which  are  allotted  to  the  welfare  of  infants. 

External  Civic  Work.  A  number  of  Hinsdale  residents  have  served 
public  causes  outside  the  village.  These  have  pertained  to  objectives 
such  as  the  public  health,  various  charities  and  charitable  funds,  the 


180  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

distribution  of  war  bonds  for  the  United  States  Treasury,  and  the  fill- 
ing of  temporary  Federal  posts. 

Other  Civic  and  Cultural  Groups 

American  Association  of  University  Women.  With  more  than  100,000 
members,  nationally,  the  A.A.U.W.  has  "practical  educational  work" 
as  its  purpose.  Since  1 934,  when  the  Hinsdale  branch  was  started,  study 
groups  have  been  encouraged  in  subjects  such  as  International  Rela- 
tions, Social  Problems,  Creative  Writing,  and  the  Creative  Arts.  Na- 
tional and  local  problems  are  approached  and  studied  objectively. 
Thus  the  group  serves  the  public,  as  well  as  the  individual.  The  Mes- 
dames  Paul  O.  Germann,  W.  R.  Jordan,  and  H.  B.  Lundberg  are  resi- 
dent charter  members. 

#  #        # 

Chamber  of  Commerce.  Many  years  ago  the  organization  of  local  busi- 
ness men  was  known  as  the  Commercial  Association  of  Hinsdale.  After 
one  or  two  modifications  in  name,  and  a  brief  tenure  of  the  Lions  Club, 
the  association  of  merchants  became  known  as  the  Hinsdale  Chamber 
of  Commerce.  It  is  affiliated  with  the  State  and  the  National  Chambers 
of  Commerce.  In  various  ways  the  Chamber  has  furthered  the  inter- 
ests of  the  community.  It  helps  newcomers  become  acquainted  with 
the  town,  furnishes  festive  decorations  for  the  business  district  at 
Christmas  time,  takes  charge  of  the  Fourth  of  July  parades,  and  offers 
its  counsel  on  questions  involving  conduct  and  progress  of  the  village. 
Mr.  Mac  Morris  was  President  of  the  Chamber  in  1949. 

#  #       # 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  In  1934  Mrs.  Guy  J.  Dart 
obtained  authorization  to  organize  a  chapter  of  the  D.A.R.  The  chap- 
ter was  accepted  by  the  National  Board  of  D.A.R.  in  April  1935  and 
was  named  in  honor  of  Captain  Hubbard  Burrows.  The  membership 
is  confined  to  lineal  descendants  of  Revolutionary  soldiers.  By  1948 
there  were  52  regular  members  and  4  associate  members.  The  objects 
of  the  Society  are  to  "protect  historical  spots,  encourage  and  publish 
historical  research  on  the  Revolution,  to  promote  educational  institu- 
tions and  foster  true  patriotism."  The  Chapter  also  has  been  active  in 
Red  Cross,  and  in  projects  looking  toward  better  citizenship. 


THE  PIVOTS   OF   VILLAGE  LIFE  181 

The  Garden  Club  had  its  start  in  1921  when  fifteen  women,  interested 
in  gardening,  met  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Frank  D.  Farr  and  organized 
The  Garden  Club  of  Hinsdale.  The  first  officers  were  Mrs.  Frank  D. 
Farr,  President,  Mrs.  Walter  H.  Eckert,  Vice-President,  and  Miss 
Fanny  Brent,  Secretary  and  Treasurer.  The  membership  initially  was 
limited  to  thirty-five  active  members,  but  now  it  numbers  sixty. 

The  club  has  landscaped  many  areas,  among  which  are  the  Com- 
munity House  grounds,  the  Junior  High  School  yard,  two  blocks  along 
the  right  of  way  of  the  Burlington  Railroad,  and  a  bird  sanctuary  at 
the  east  end  of  Third  Street.  A  substantial  contribution  was  made 
toward  landscaping  the  Memorial  Building  grounds.  The  members 
of  the  Club  have  staged  many  flower  shows  in  Hinsdale  and  have  par- 
ticipated in  all  the  shows  given  under  the  auspices  of  The  Garden 
Club  of  Illinois,  where  they  have  taken  many  first  prizes  and  special 
awards  in  major  exhibits. 


The  Garden  Study  Club.  A  Junior  Garden  Club  was  organized  on 
Monday,  February  19,  1929,  with  the  assistance  of  Mrs.  O.  W.  Dynes, 
who  was  then  President  of  the  Garden  Club.  Mrs.  Donald  O.  McLeran 
was  voted  the  first  President  of  this  new  group.  The  club  was  com- 
prised of  young  Hinsdale  women  who  had  watched,  with  interest  and 
admiration,  the  achievements  of  the  senior  Club,  and  who  were  in- 
spired to  organize  a  club  of  their  own.  The  membership  was  confined 
to  those  who  were  actively  interested  in  gardening  and  in  the  work  of 
the  club.  In  1931  the  name  was  changed  to  The  Garden  Study  Club. 
The  aim;  to  become  an  influence  in  the  community  by  creating  and 
maintaining  beauty,  has  been  carried  out.  In  many  instances  the  two 
garden  clubs  have  worked  together  on  projects. 


The  Music  Club.  There  have  been  several  music  groups  in  the  village 
over  the  past  sixty  years,  the  Musical  Union  and  the  Amphion  Society 
being  the  most  clearly  recalled  among  those  that  existed  before  1 900. 

In  January,  1937,  Mrs.  Andrew  E.  Fenn,  an  accomplished  pianist, 
invited  a  group  of  ladies,  who  were  interested  in  music,  to  her  home. 
At  this  gathering  the  Music  Club  of  Hinsdale  was  formed,  with  Mrs. 
John  Roberts  as  its  first  President,  and  Miss  Jean  Hall  its  Secretary  and 


182  VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Treasurer.  The  Club  now  has  forty  members.  It  engages  in  the  study 
and  performance  of  various  instrumental  and  vocal  works,  and  has 
made  contributions  in  the  form  of  records  and  entertainment  to 
Vaughn  Hospital,  and  to  Hinsdale  institutions  and  assemblies.  Mrs. 
Fenn's  interest  and  participation  has  continued  from  the  beginning. 


The  P.E.O.  Sisterhood  was  founded  in  1869  at  Iowa  Wesleyan  Col- 
lege, Mt.  Pleasant,  Iowa.  In  the  80  years  since  that  time,  the  organiza- 
tion has  become  international,  with  chapters  in  47  states,  Canada, 
Alaska,  and  Hawaii.  The  Hinsdale  chapter  was  organized  in  1928  un- 
der the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Nettie  Newman.  It  now  has  64  members. 

Nationally,  P.E.O.  assists  young  women  toward  obtaining  higher 
education,  and  has  improved  the  facilities  at  Cottey  Junior  College, 
in  Missouri,  an  institution  which  was  donated  to  the  organization  by 
one  of  its  members.  Locally,  the  chapter  has  made  gifts  to  the  Public 
Library,  to  the  schools,  and  has  assisted  students  financially. 


Scouting.  In  the  year  1912  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Brown,  Merriman, 
and  Wallace  appointed  a  committee  of  local  residents  to  investigate  the 
possibility  of  organizing  a  Boy  Scout  Council  in  Hinsdale.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  committee,  in  May  of  that  year,  Mr.  Teeter,  a  Scout  Commis- 
sioner, gave  a  talk  at  the  Hinsdale  Club  concerning  the  Boy  Scout 
movement.  Eventually,  a  constitution  and  by-laws  for  the  Hinsdale 
Council  were  drawn,  and  Mr.  E.  P.  McKenna  was  elected  President, 
with  C.  T.  Lamb  and  R.  S.  Pierce  as  members  of  the  executive  board. 
Other  men  who  served  the  movement  were  Frank  Bebb,  H.  T.  Cart- 
ledge,  Guy  Dart,  William  Regnery,  and  W.  W.  Williamson. 

Several  Scouting  units  were  formed,  and  in  1916  Hinsdale,  with 
other  communities  along  the  Burlington,  organized  the  West  Sub- 
urban District  of  the  Chicago  Council.  Hinsdale,  in  the  year  1949,  is 
in  the  Indian  Trails  District  of  the  West  Suburban  Council. 

Before  the  advent  of  Boy  Scouts  in  Hinsdale  a  troop  of  Boys  Brigade 
had  been  formed,  under  Alfred  Walkei,  in  1910.  Boys  Brigade  was  a 
similar,  but  less  comprehensive  establishment. 


THE  PIVOTS   OF   VILLAGE  LIFE  183 

Girl  Scouting  had  its  beginning  here  in  April,  1920,  with  a  troop  of  13 
girls  under  the  leadership  of  Isabelle  Jackson.  A  charter  for  the  group 
was  issued  in  November  of  the  same  year,  signed  by  Bertha  T.  Beatty, 
Commissioner;  Olive  Hicks,  Mary  A.  Leary,  and  Frances  Regnery. 
A  trainer  was  employed  in  1936,  in  the  person  of  Mrs.  I.  L.  Milton, 
who  now  is  known  as  the  Executive  Director. 

At  the  present  time,  there  are  264  girls,  14  troops  having  30  leaders, 
and  13  girl  scout  board  members.  In  June,  1948,  126  girls  attended 
Day  Camp,  with  45  adults  assisting. 


The  Woman  s  Club.  Early  in  the  1890's  a  number  of  ladies  were  talk- 
ing of  "united  and  systematic  action  toward  intellectual  improvement, 
social  enjoyment,  and  the  welfare  of  the  community."  These  resolved 
purposes  grew  out  of  a  class  for  mothers,  that  was  meeting  during  those 
years,  and  the  movement  soon  developed  into  a  club,  simultaneously 
with  the  federation  of  all  women's  clubs  throughout  the  state.  Its 
charter  members  numbered  one  hundred,  and  the  new  club  immedi- 
ately joined  the  federation. 

A  constitution  and  by-laws  were  drafted  by  Mrs.  John  Burton, 
Mrs.  Robert  Childs,  Mrs.  S.  Hough,  Mrs.  J.  V.  Ridgeway,  and  Mrs. 
W.  J.  Pollock.  Mrs.  John  Burton  was  elected  president. 

Classes  were  formed  in  History  and  Literature,  Travel,  Current 
Topics,  the  Bible,  and  the  problems  of  mothers.  During  its  first  twenty 
years  the  club  extended  its  activities  to  groups  and  causes  outside,  as 
well  as  within,  the  village,  but  eventually  the  outside  work  was  dis- 
continued. The  early  meetings  were  held  at  various  places:  the  hall 
over  Evernden's  drug  store,  Unity  Church,  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  finally  at  the  Hinsdale  Club,  in  which  building  the  members  still 
gather.  At  one  time,  the  Club's  funds  were  kept  in  the  safe  at  Ditzler 
*k  Linsley's  grocery.  This  was  before  the  village  had  a  bank. 

The  club  has  sponsored  many  local  projects  such  as  better  garbage 
disposal,  sprinkling  of  the  streets,  compulsory  education,  certain 
needed  equipment  in  the  schools,  and  many  pleasant  social  functions. 
The  club  has  participated  in  a  long  list  of  philanthropies.  Today  some 
of  the  activities  are  conducted  under  different  names,  and  the  program 
includes  outside  speakers  and  entertainers,  but  generally  the  club's 
purposes  and  objectives  remain  the  same  as  they  were  in  the  beginning. 


184  VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 

The  Community  House 

Here  is  the  center  of  many  activities.  When  the  Hinsdale  Club  found 
it  necessary  to  discontinue,  its  commodious  building  at  First  and  Gar- 
field was  put  to  a  new  use  that  has  brought  many  conveniences  and 
benefits  to  the  village  at  large.  Through  foresight,  generosity,  and 
good  work  on  the  part  of  its  original  board  of  governors,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  an  efficient  corps  of  fund  raisers,  the  building  was  ac- 
quired. It  has  since  been  fitted  out  as  a  varied  and  constructive  recrea- 
tional center,  under  a  full-time  manager. 

It  houses  these  principal  activities:  indoor  athletics  and  games, 
dramatics,  social  functions,  music,  public  speaking,  arts  and  crafts,  and 
educational  classes.  Community  House  serves  as  a  central  meeting 
place  for  civic  organizations  and  their  committees,  and  for  activities 
that  are  conducted  outside,  such  as  the  camera,  archery,  and  riding 
clubs. 

First  Board  of  Governors 

Chairman,  William  R.  Jordan 

Mrs.  F.  J.  Bilger  Fred  J.  Keller 

Mrs.  Carrol  Brooks  E.  W.  Kettering 

F.  H.  Clifton  Mrs.  J.  B.  Mitchell 

P.  A.  Crane  Abner  Sommers 

Mrs.  Ruth  Dickinson  Courtland  Symonds 
Oscar  Dreusicke 


Hinsdale's  Newspaper 


O.  O.  McIntyre,  of  the  Chicago  Herald  if  Examiner,  said  one  day  in 
his  column: 

"Much  of  the  very  best  stuff  written  in  American  newspapers  reaches  only  a 
limited  audience.  This  is  because  it  is  turned  out  for  country  weeklies  and  small 
town  dailies." 

Daniel  H.  Merrill  displayed  an  interest  in  newspaper  publishing 
at  an  early  age.  Before  he  was  out  of  school,  he  started  a  little  paper, 
in  Frank  Merrill's  barn  on  Woodside  Drive,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
town's  "small  fry".  Then  came  The  Columbian  Era,  "a  monthly  jour- 


THE  PIVOTS   OF   VILLAGE  LIFE  185 

nal  devoted  to  the  interests  of  youth",  edited  by  D.  H.  Merrill  and 
W.  H.  Linsley,  at  20  cents  a  year  to  its  subscribers.  Although  this  jour- 
nal was  motivated  in  much  the  same  spirit  that  led  other  boys  to  set  up 
back  yard  stores  or  wild  west  shows,  there  was  this  difference:  Dan 
Merrill  had  found  his  forte  at  this  early  age,  and  his  production  gave 
evidence  of  a  genuine  flair  for  journalism. 

On  Saturday,  October  5,  1 895,  the  first  issue  of  the  Hinsdale  Doings 
was  distributed  through  the  village  by  Dan  and  his  helper,  Tom  Page. 
Said  Mr.  Page,  in  writing  about  this  event  many  years  later:  "I  shall 
never  forget  the  first  issue  of  the  Doings  which  I,  with  Dan  Merrill, 
took  about  and  delivered  personally  to  each  house;  and  I  saw  Dan  take 
the  first  paid  subscription  from,  I  think  it  was  Mr.  Crossett,  near  Con- 
gressman Child's  corner".  For  this  work,  Tom  Page  received  a  silver 
dollar.  Editorially,  this  first  issue  remarked:  "With  this  number  Hins- 
dale Doings  begins  its  existence.  How  long  and  how  successful  that 
existence  will  be,  the  publishers  do  not  know".  But  time,  that  inexor- 
able judge,  has  told.  In  1944  The  Doings  observed  its  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary, and  its  future  appears  very  bright  indeed. 

The  Merrill  Printing  Company,  publishers  of  The  Doings,  had  its 
shop  on  Chicago  Avenue,  east  of  Washington  in  the  1890's.  Later,  the 
company  moved  to  the  N.E.  corner  of  Chicago  Avenue  and  Lincoln, 
where  it  remained  until  1938  when  its  new  quarters  next  door  were 
occupied. 

*7v"  TV*  w 

The  civic  group  is  a  traditional  American  institution,  of  noble  ances- 
try. It  has  descended  from  our  Colonial  custom  of  holding  town  meet- 
ings. If,  therefore,  a  town  displays  a  certain  lofty  self-respect,  or  a  sense 
of  delight  in  its  own  civic  groups,  it  is  a  time  for  recognition  and  ad- 
miration. Their  efforts  and  their  achievements  are  to  be  applauded. 
From  about  1870  onward,  Hinsdale  has  had  many  such  groups, 
and  always  there  has  been  close  cooperation  between  the  civic  organ- 
izations and  the  newspaper.  In  the  8o's  and  go's  the  groups  were  a  little 
more  on  the  social  side  than  they  are  now,  but  always  they  have  served 
toward  construction,  collaboration,  neighborliness,  and  well-attuned 
community  progress. 


ADDENDA 


ADDENDA 


Presidents  of  the  Village 


Joel  Tiffany 1873 

William  Robbins 1874 

M.  A.  Donohue l%lh~11 

E.  P.  Hinds 1878 

C.  H.  Hudson 1879 

A.  Pugh 1880 

C.  C.  Warren 1881 

D.  L.  Perry 1882 

J.  C.  Merrick 1883 

E.  P.  Hinds 1884-86 

Wm.  Duncan 1887 

E.  P.  Hinds 1888-89 

D.  H.  Preston 1890-91 

E.  P.  Hinds 1892-93 


J.  C.  F.  Merrill 1894-98 

James  A.  Blood 1899-01 

J.  C.  F.  Merrill 1902-04 

John  C.  Hess 1905-08 

John  C.  Wood 1909-14 

E.  F.  Hasbrook 1915-18 

R.  W.  Burns 1919-24 

W.  T.  Bruckner 1925-30 

S.  F.  Beatty 1931'34 

Wm.  H.  Regnery 1935_39 

F.  H.  McElhone 1 939-45 

H.  A.  Brinkman 1945-49 

Dale  Cox    J949- 


Signers  of  the  Petition 
for  Village  Incorporation 


Anson  Ayres 
F.  Bascomb 
John  Bohlander 
L.  Bush 
C.  P.  Clark 
T.  B.  Clark 
B.  F.  Deming 
M.  A.  Donohue 
F.  A.  Doolittle 

H.  L.  ESTABROOK 

B.  E.  Ferrill 
Caroline  P.  Fisk 

C.  P.  Frye 

L.  E.  GlFFORD 

E.  P.  Hinds 
Isaac  L.  Hinds 
C.  H.  Hudson 
Windsor  Leland 
A.  A.  Lincoln 


T.  E.  Lonergan 
W.  McCredie 
A.  A.  Mann 

M.  H.  MlDDLETON 

John  Parker 

D.  L.  Perry 
William  Robbins 
David  Roth 

E.  Sawyer 
Robt.  S.  Slocum 
John  F.  Stuart 
H.  R.  Thompson 
Joel  Tiffany 

N.  H.  Warren 
Geo.  H.  Wells 
William  Whiting 
J.  W.  Wilcox 
W.  W.  Wood 


89 


igo 


VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


Presidents  of  the  School  Board 


R.  A.  Childs 1879-94 

W.  H.  Holcomb 1894-03 

W.  G.  Gordon 1903-08 

H.  W.  Holcomb 1908-13 

Robert  Childs 1913-17 

Dana  Slade  Jr 1917-20 

S.  F.  Beatty 1920-21 

S.  W.  Banning 1921-24 


W.  H.  Eckert 1924-25 

E.  W.  Childs 1925-29 

P.  R.  Clarke 1 929-32 

D.  W.  Pratt 1 932-33 

C.  L.  Cobb 1933-40 

E.  B.  Johnson 1941-44 

J.  O.  Heppes 1944_ 


A  search  of  the  records,  here,  and  in  the  County  Seat,  reveals  no  names 
of  Presidents  of  the  School  Board  from  1867,  when  the  first  Hinsdale 
School  District  was  set  apart,  until  1879.  Messrs.  B.  Plummer,  E.  P. 
Hinds,  and  W.  R.  Banker  are  known  to  have  constituted  the  School's 
"Board  of  Directors"  when  it  was  a  branch  of  the  Fullersburg  School 
District,  in  1866. 


Presidents  of  the  Hinsdale  Club 


1889 

William  Duncan 

1913-15  Dana  Slade  Jr. 

1890  * 

1915-18  Wade  Fetzer 

1891  * 

1918        Fletcher  W. 

1892* 

Rockwell 

1893* 

1919       E.  H.  Hicks 

1894 

E.  P.  Hinds 

1920-23  Philip  R.  Clarke 

l895 

C.  A.  Allen 

1923-25  Walter  H.  Eckert 

1896 

W.  H.  Crocker 

1925        T.  R.  Weddell 

1897* 

1927-29  George  H.  Bell 

1898* 

1929-31  J.  B.  VanVleck 

^99 

J.  A.  Blood 

1931        George  A.  Knapp 

1900  * 

1932        J.  Frank  Peaslee 

1901-03 

W.  H.  Knight 

1933-35  George  M.  Jackson 

i9°3-°5 

C.  H.  Crossette 

1935        F.  H.  McElhone 

1905 

J.  N.  Redfern 

1936        G.  P.  Snow 

1906 

J.  J.  Danforth 

1937        Frank  Van  Inwagen 

1907-09 

L.  P.  CONOVER 

1938-40  M.Samuel 

1909-11 

George  E.  Smith 

1940-43   B.  W.  HlNES 

^9^-n 

H.  H.  Holcomb 

The  Club  discontinued  July  26,  1943. 

*  The  minute  books  for  these  years  are  not  available  and  the  names  of  the  Presidents  have  not 
been    determined. 


ADDENDA 


*9l 


Presidents  of  the  Woman's  Club 

Hinsdale's  oldest  existing  club. 


Mrs.  John  Burton 1 

Mrs.  W.  H.  Knight 1 

Mrs.  C.  E.  Raymond 1 

Mrs.  H.  G.  Hetzler 1 

Miss  Louise  L.  Washburn  .  .  . .  i 

Mrs.  A.  E.  Walker 1 

Mrs.  W.  H.  Edwards 1 

Mrs.  Henry  Holverscheid  .  .  .  .  i 

Mrs.  Otis  Cushing 1 

Miss  Harriette  C.  Merrill.  .  .  1 

Mrs.  Frank  H.  Belden 1 

Mrs.  Houston  I.  Hiatt 1 

Mrs.  Howard  G.  Hetzler  .  .  .  .  i 

Mrs.  Ralph  Peirce 1 

Mrs.  William  T.  Bruckner.  .  1 


°95 
897 
901 

9°3 
905 
9°7 
9°9 
911 
9J3 
9*5 
9i7 
9*9 
921 
922 
924 


■97 
■01 

■03 

°5 
07 

09 

1 1 

*3 

*5 
i7 
J9 
21 

22 
24 
26 


Miss 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 


Florence  Beckett. 

.  1926-28 

Davis  McMakin 

.1928-30 

Harold  G.  Townsend  .  . 

•1930-31 

Lester  B.  Converse.  .  .  . 

■^S^SS 

Duncan  J.  Hall 

•!933-35 

Earl  Victor  Johnson  .  . 

•1935 

Courtney  D.  Freeman  . 

•!935-37 

Martin  B.  Travis 

•J937-39 

Marshall  Keig  .  . 

.  1Q2Q-T1 

Joel  W.  Greene 

• lvOV T* 
..1941 

Davis  McMakin 

.1941-42 

Charles  L.  Cobb 

.1942-44 

William  W.  Welsh  .... 

.1944-46 

Philip  A.  Crane 

.1946-48 

W.  T.  Dawson 

.1948- 

Postmasters 


L.  E.  Moreley 1867-69 

I.  S.  Bush 1869-70 

I.  S.  Hinds 1870-72 

R.  S.  Slocum 1872-74 

L.  E.  Gifford 1874-76 

A.  L.  Pearsall 1876-84 

J.    G.    BOHLANDER 1  884-88 

A.  L.  Dorathy 1888-94 

Frank  Irvine 1894-98 


D.  A.  Courter 1898-06 

W.  B.  Carlton 1906-07 

James  McClintock 1907-15 

J.   G.   BOHLANDER   Jr 1915-22 

Norman  Jefferson 1922-27 

Syrena  B.  Roth 1927-35 

F.  M.  Rawlings 1 935-43 

J.  L.  Zimmerman *943- 


From  1864  to  1867  Hinsdale  people  used  the  Fullersburg  post  office. 
In  Hinsdale  the  post  office  has  had  these  seven  locations: 

1.  At  the  southeast  corner  of  Washington  and  Hinsdale  Ave.,  in  the  old  Roth 
building. 

2.  On  the  west  side  of  Washington  in  the  Fox  Bros,  store  building,  opposite  the 
first  location. 

3.  In  a  frame  building  a  little  south  of  the  second  location. 

4.  Three  doors  south  of  the  third  location,  on  the  west  side  of  Washington. 

5.  In  the  Heineman  building,  northeast  corner  of  First  and  Washington. 

6.  South  side  of  Hinsdale  Ave.,  west  of  Washington. 

7.  The  present  location. 


ig2  VILLAGE   ON    THE   COUNTY  LINE 


Hinsdale's  Population 


1873 30010500    1910 3451 

1875  600    1920 4,042 

1880  819   1923  (50  yrs.) 5,000 

1885 1,100   1930 6,972 

1890 1^584   1940 8,200 

1900 2,500   1949  (est.)  8,600 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Accidents 

Vehicle,  103 

Railroad,  99,  119 
A,  F.  &  A.  M.  Lodge,  177 
Agricultural  Society 

Du  Page  County,  30 
Aldrich,  Horace,  35 
Aldrich,  Levi,  55 
Allen,  Chas.  A.,  123,  189 
American  Association  of  University 

Women,   180 
American  Legion,  177 
American  Legion  Auxiliary,  178 
Artesian  Water,  5 
Ashe,  William,  59 
Athletics,  97,  101,  118,  148,  149 
Atwater,  Jesse,  46 
Automobiles 

Early  Owners,  144 
Ayres,  Anson,  66,  123,  188 
Bacon,  Asa,   147 
Bahlman,  F.  W.,   147 
Ballou,  Ralph  N.,  155 
Banker,  E.,  82 
Banker,  W.  S.,  82,  123 
Banning,  S.  W.,  155 
Baptist  Church,  84,  85,  171 
Barnes,  C.  M.,  123 
Barr,  W.  T.,  123 
Barton,  Enos  M.,  123 
Barton,  Jesse,  125 
Bascomb,  F.,   188 
Bassett,  O.  P.,  125,  146 
Bassett  &  Washburn,  146 
Bayer,  Philip,  111 

Beatty,  Samuel  F.,  155,  162,  188,  i8g 
Bebb,  Frank,  182 
Beckett,  Florence,   190 
Beckwith,  C.  G.,  111,  125 
Bedford,  Cora,  101 
Beidler,  A.  F.,  129 
Belden,  Frank  H.,  Mrs.,  190 
Belknap,  A.  A.,  90 
Bell,  Geo.  H.,  155,  189 
Bergman,  H.,  66 
Berry,  Geo.  A.,  Jr.,  155 
Bicycle  Races,  Tours,  114,  115 
Bilger,  F.  J.,  Mrs.,  184 


Black  Hawk,  Chief,  17,  19 
Blackman,  W.   L.,    119,    125 
Blanchard,  J.,  82 
Blodgett,  A.  H.,  125 
Blodgett,  Georgia,  110,  125 
Blood,  James  A.,  125,  188,  189 
Boerger,  H.,  125 
Bohlander,  Henry,  59 
Bohlander,  John  G.,  67,  111,  125, 
Bohlander,  J.  G.,  Jr.,  190 
Boles,  F.  T.,  155 
Bowles,  Edwin,  125 
Bowles,  Jenny,  101 
Boy  Scouts,  182 
Boyd,  D.  W.,  68 
Bradley,  John  H.,  107,  125 
Brent,  Fanny,  181 
Briggs,  Lafayette,   126 
Brinkman,  H.  A.,   155,  188 
Brookins,  Harvey,  Mrs.,  49 
Brooks,  E.  P.,  Mrs.,  164,  184 
Brown,  Charles  A.,  122,  144,  155 
Brown,  C.  A.,  Mrs.,    163 
Brown,  Malcolm,  153 
Bruckner,  Wm.  T.,  155,  188 
Bruckner,  W.  T.,  Mrs.,  190 
Brush  Hill, 

Name,  46 
Brush  Hill  School,  49 
Buffington,  Walter,  126,  155 
Buildings, 

First  in  Vicinity,   11,  12 
Bullerman,  W.,  67 
Burns,  Randall,  155,  188 
Burr,  W.  B.,  162 
Burt,  Paul,  Mrs.,   177 
Burt,  Wilson,  163 
Burton,  John,  Mrs.,  183,  190 
Bush,  Isaac  S.,  81,  190 
Bush,  James,  101 
Bush,  L.,    188 
Bush,  M.  P.,  90 
Business  Directories 

Brush  Hill,   1854,  58 

Fullersburg,  1886,  67 

Hinsdale,  1886,  111 
Butler,  Burridge  D.,  155 
Butler,  F.  O.,   119 


190 


195 


ig6 


VILLAGE  ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


Butler,  Julius  W.,   119 
Butler,  Julius  W.,  120 
Butler,  Paul,  120 
Cable,  F.  S.,  126 
Cable,  Gladys,  164 
Candee,  Flora,  Mrs.,  177 
Carey,  Judge  J.  W.,  126 
Carlton,  W.  B.,  190 
Cartledge,  H.  T.,  182 
Case,  J.  I.,  83 
Castle,  Ward  C,  155 
C.  B.  &  Q.  Railroad 

First  Line,  69 

Line  Through  Napersville  and 

Downers  Grove,  69,  70,  71,  72,  73 

Early  Equipment,  74,  75 

Beginning  of  Suburban  Service,  88 

Station,  No.  1,  81,  82 

Station,  No.  2,  139 

Highlands,  97 
Chambers,  Geo.  T.,  111 
Chandler,  Leslie,  153 
Cemeteries,  121 
Chamber  of  Commerce,   180 
Chautauqua  in  Hinsdale,  109 
Chicago  Portage,  9,  10 
Childs,  E.  W.,  155,  189 
Childs,  L.  C,  155 
Childs,  Mary  C,  Mrs.,  176,  183 
Childs,  Robert  A.,   126,  189 
Childs,  R.  W.,  155,   163 
Church  of  Christ  Scientist,  173 
Church  Functions,  Early,  96,  1 1 1 
Church  Data,  170,  171 
Churchill,  H.  P.,  90 
Circuses,  143 

Claim  Protection  Societies,  30 
Clarendon  Hills,  90 

Origin  of  Name,  79 
Clark,  C.  P.,  100,  188 
Clark,  T.  B.,  188 
Clark,  T.  E.,  89 
Clarke,  Philip  R.,  111,  122,  151,  152,  154, 

160,  189 
Clarke,  P.  R.,  Mrs.,  164 
Clarke,  Robert  W.,  115,  116,  121,  126 
Clarke,  Robert  W.,  Jr.,  115,  163 
Cleveland,  H.  W.  G.,  77 
Clifton,  F.  H.,  184 
Clubs,  Not  Listed  in  Chap.  X. 

Early,  98,   101 

Hinsdale,   112,   121,   147 

Presidents,  189 


Country  Tennis,  121 

Saddle  and  Bridle,  153 

Polo,  Oak  Brook,  120 
Cobb,  Chas.  L.,  155,  189 
Cobb,  C.  L.,  Mrs.,  190 
Cochran,  Philip,  178 
Coe,  C.  T.,  67 
Coe,  John  S.,  48,  54,  62,  68 
Coffeen,  William,  126 
Coffin,  George,  143 
Coffin,  M.,  66 

Collins,  Sydney  T.,  126,  155 
Community  House,  184 
Conover,  L.  P.,  127,  155,  189 
Converse,  L.  B.,  Mrs.,  190 
Cortis,  W.  P.,  127 
Couch,   Luther,  58 

Council  of  War  on  Desplaines  River,   18 
County  Seat  Moved,  85 
Courter,  D.  A.,  127,  190 
Craigmile,  Deacon  James,  127 
Crane,  P.  A.,  184 
Crane,  P.  A.,  Mrs.,  190 
Crosby,  E.  C,  127 
Crosby,  Francis,   115 
Crossette,  C.  H.,  127,  189 
Crocker,  D.  J.,  127 
Crocker  W.  H.,  189 
Crooke,  Wm.  D.,   127 
Crouse,  Fred  C,  111 
Cushing,  Chas.  H.,  127 
Cushing,  Otis,  127 
Cushing,  Otis,  Mrs.,  190 
Danforth,  J.  J.,  127,  189 
Dart,  Guy,  182 
Dart,  Guy,  Mrs.,  180 
Daughters  American  Revolution,  180 
Davies,  W.  B.,  155 
Davis,  J.  C,  Mrs.,  163,  179 
Davis,  Mark,  58 
Dawson,  Alex,  111 
Dawson,  Thomas,  127 
Dawson,  W.  T.,  Mrs.,  190 
Dean,  Earl  S.,  163 
Dean,  H.  S.,  128 
Dean,  R.  H.,  128 
Dean,  Samuel  E.,  155 
Delicate,  W.,  67 
Deming,  B.  F.,  188 
Dennison,  C.  G.,  177 
Derrickson,  Geo.  P.,   128 
Desplaines  River,  3,  4,  9 
Dickinson,  Ruth,  Mrs.,  184 


INDEX 


197 


Dickinson,  Wm.  F.,  155 
Dietz,  Henry,  59 
Diphtheria  Epidemic,   114 
Ditzler,  E.  H.,  128 
Ditzler  &  Linsley  Fire,  148 
Dodson,  Josiah  B.,  58 
Donohue,  M.  A.,  89,  128,  188 
Doolittle,  F.  A.,  188 
Dora  thy,  A.  L.,  86,  111,  190 
Downers  Grove, 

Name,  80 
Dreusicke,  Oscar,   184 
Duncan,  Joseph,  163 
Duncan,  Wm.,  128,  142,  188,  189 
Dugan,  A.  G.,  155 
Dugan,  A.  G.,  Mrs.,  164 
Dugan,  Hugh,  Mrs.,  164,  177 
Du  Page,  Company  of  Volunteers,  21 
Du  Page,  Name,  13 
Dyas,  F.  G.,  155 
Dynes,  O.  W.,  155 
Earle,  John,  128 
Eckert,  Walter  H.,  155,  189 
Eckert,  W.  H.,  Mrs.,  181 
Eddy,  J.  E.,  Mrs.,  164 
Edwards,  Bert,  121 
Edwards,  W.  H.,  Mrs.,  190 
Edwards,  W.  P.,   128 
Edwards,  S.  R.,  155 
Eidam,  J.  C,  67 
Elmers,  Andreaus,  128 
Episcopal  Church,  96,  172 
Essley,  E.  Porter,  155 
Estabrook,  D.  S.,  83 
Estabrook,  H.  L.,  188 
Evangelical  Mission 

Covenant  Church,  172 
Everett,  Edward  W.,  155 
Evernden,  William,  91,  111,  128,  145 
External  Civic  Work,  179 
Farr,  Frank  D.,  155 
Farr,  Frank  D.,  Mrs.,  181 
Farr,  Reuben,  83 
Farrel,  James,  128 
Fayerweather,  Rhoades,  115 
Fee,  Louie  T.,  101 
Fellows,  C,  66 
Fenn,  A.  E.,  Mrs.,  181 
Ferrill,  B.  E.,  188 
Fetzer,  J.  C,  155 
Fetzer,  Wade,  154,  164,  189 
Field,  Walter  Taylor,  155 
Fish,  Elisha,  46 


Fisk,  Caroline  P.,  188 
Flagg  Creek,  3,  4,  5 

Flagg  Creek  Convention,  32 

Attempted  Ambush,   22 
Flechtner,  H.,  67 
Foot,  D.  K.,  66 
Ford,  Almeron,  67 
Fort  Beggs,  22 
Fort  Paine,   22 
Foster,  Thomas,  1 1 1 
Fourth  of  July  Celebration 

Pioneer,  35 

First  Known  in  Hinsdale,  97 

Where  Held,  98 

"Sane"  Fourth  Movement,   150,  152 
Fox,  Charles,  128 
Fox  &  Davis,  1 1 6 
Fox,  Heman,  128 
Fox,  Jarvis,  66,  76 
Fox,  Marvin,  48 
Frank,  A.,  66 

Freeman,  C.  D.,  Mrs.,  190 
Freeman,  H.  W.,  155 
Freeman,  W.  H.,  129 
Freer,  Lemuel  H.,  129 
Freer,  L.  H.,  Mrs.,  163 
French,  Geo.  H.,   112 
Frey,  C.  P.,  92,  188 
Friends  of  the  Library,  177 
Frosher,  Adolph,  70,  129 
Frost,  A.  G.,  155 
Frost,  J.  M.,   175 
Fuller,  Benjamin,  47,  48,  59,  129 
Fuller,  Jacob  and  Family,  47 
Fuller,  John,  59 
Fuller,  Loie,  63 
Fuller,  Morell,  62,  67,  129 
Fuller,  William,  55 
Fullersburg  Annexed,   154 
Fullersburg,  Incorporated,  62 
Fulton,  H.  A.,   129 
Fur  Traders,    12,   13 
Gager,  Chas.  M.,   162 
Gardner,  Henry  A.,  118,  129 
Garden  Club,  181 
Garden  Study  Club,  181 
Gates,  Wm.  P.,  129 
Geology 

Cook  and  Du  Page  Counties,  3,  4,  5 
Germann,  P.  O.,  Mrs.,  180 
Giffert,  Wm.,  153 
Gifford,  J.  A.,  112 
Gifford,  L.  E.,  188,  190 


i98 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


Girl  Scouts,  183 

Gordon,  W.  G.,  189 

Government,  167 

Grabo,  Carl,  115 

Grabo,  H.  F.,  114 

Grant,  Orente,  46 

Gray,  E.  E.,  123 

Graue,  Frederick,  59,  61,  72 

Graue  Grist  Mill,  59 

Graue,  Wm.,  Mrs.,  61 

Greene,  J.  W.,  Mrs.,  190 

Haake,  Godefrey,  112 

Hahn,  Henry,  62 

Hall,  A.  T.,  83,  90 

Hall,  D.  J.,  Mrs.,  190 

Hammond,  John,  112 

Handke,  M.  E.,  155 

Hawley,  Pierce,  16,  20 

Hannah,  F.  H.,  82,  129 

Harris,  Robert,  83,  90 

Hasbrook,  E.  F.,  188 

Haskell,  Dr.  L.  P.,  109,  130 

Heineman,  W.  S.,  67,  130 

Heinke,  Henry,  67 

Hemshell,  John,  48,  76,  112 

Hench,  Horace  B.,  162 

Hench,  Dr.  J.  B.,  130,  148 

Hench,  Jay  L.,  155,  162 

Henrick,  Christian,  62 

Heppes,  J.  O.,  189 

Hess,  John  C,  188 

Hetzler,  H.  G.,  155 

Hetzler,  H.  G.,  Mrs.,  190 

Hiatt,  H.  Mrs.,  190 

Hiatt,  Houston,  I.,  155 

Hicks,  E.  H.,  189 

Hicks,  Olive,   183 

Higley,  Chas.  A.,   155 

Hildebrand,  L.  K.,  130 

Hinckley,  Geo.  W.,  130 

Hinckley,  Wm.  B.,  130 

Hinckley,  Wm.  S.,  130 

Hinds,  E.  P.,  83,  93,  188,  189 

Hinds,  I.  L.,  188 

Hinds,  I.  S.,  190 

Hinds,  J.  P.,  89 

Hines,  A.  G.,  91 

Hines,  B.  W.,  189 

Hines,  E.  F.,  Mrs.,  56 

Hinsdale  Beacon,   Newspaper,   116 

Hinsdale  Community  Service,  179 

Hinsdale  Doings,  184 

Hinsdale  Fresh  Air  Assn.,  150 


Hinsdale  50th  Anniversary 

Celebration,  153 
Hinsdale  Golf  Club,  132   (L.  C.  Newell), 

91,  147,  151,  152 
Hinsdale  Good  Fellows,  159 
Hinsdale,  Incorporated,  93 
Hinsdale,  Index,  Newspaper,  116 
Hinsdale 

Name,  78,  79 
Hinsdale  Laundry,  112 
Hinsdale  Relief  Society,  159 
Hinsdale  Sanitarium,  146 
Hinsdale  Theatre,  152 
Homes,  Early,  86,  123 
Horse  Shows,  153 
Hix,  W.,  67 
Hoehne,  George,  62 
Holcomb,  H.  H.,  155,  189 
Holcomb,  H.  W.,  189 
Holcomb,  W.  H.,  131,  189 
Holmes,  C.  B.,  82,  90 
Holverscheid,  Henry,  131 
Holverscheid,  H.,  Mrs.,  190 
Hoof,  Addison  C,  155 
Hough,  S.,  Mrs.,  183 
Howard,  George,  90 
Howard,  Thomas  T.,  112 
Hudson,  C.  H.,  188 
Hughitt,  Marvin,  82 
Ignatz,  H.,  67 
Illinois— Mich.  Canal,  37 
Illinois, 

Northern  Boundary  of,  12 
Immanuel  Church,  172 
Indian  Creek  Massacre,  20 
Indians  of  Chicago  Region,  5  to  7, 

Removed  From  This  Area,  31 
Infant  Welfare,  179 
Irish,  Mary,  131 
Irvine,  Frank,  190 
Jackson,  Geo.  M.,  189 
Jackson,  Horace,  131 
Jackson,  Isabelle,  183 
Jefferson,  Norman,  190 
Johnson,  E.  B.,  189 
Johnson,  E.  V.,  Mrs.,  190 
Johnston,  William,  112 
Jones,  Benjamin,  131 
Jones,  Robert,  76 
Jordan,  Wm.  R.,  184 
Jordan,  W.  R.,  Mrs.,  180 
Joselyn,  M.  L.,  156 
Karlson,  E.  &  Son,  112 


INDEX 


199 


Karnatz,  C,  67 

Keane,  H.  Victor,  156 

Keig,  Marshall,  110,  156 

Keig,  Marshall,  Mrs.,  190 

Keith,  A.  E.,  144,  152 

Keller,  Fred  J.,  184 

Ketcham,  Gertrude,  Mrs.,  178 

Kettering,  E.  W.,  184 

Kettering,  E.  W.,  Mrs.,  164 

Keyes,  George,  1 1 2 

Kimball,  W.  W.,  Mrs.,  164 

Kimbell,  C.  B.,  131 

Kimbell,  C.  R.,  162 

King,  Sherman,  27,  49,  55,  59,  162 

Knapp,  Geo.  A.,  189 

Knight,  Wm.  H.,  131,  187 

Knight,  W.  H.,  Mrs.,  190 

Knisley,  H.  C.,  131,  156 

Knowlson,  J.  S.,  156 

Krohn,  W.  F.,  131,  156 

Kurth,  Frederick,  162 

Kurth,  Julius,  162 

LaGrange,  name,  79 

Lamb,  Chauncey  T.,  132,  182 

Lamson,  John  B.,  156 

Laugh  ton  Brothers,  11,  15 

Laundry,  Hinsdale,  112 

Lawrence,  Grove,  56 

Lawton,  Dr.  Thomas,  132 

Leary,  Mary  A.,   183 

Legge,  Alexander,  134,  152,  154 

Leland,  W.,  83,  93,  188 

Lemmon,  T.  A.,  91 

Leonard,  F.,  59 

Leslie,  Walter,  112 

Lincoln,  A.  A.,  132,  188 

Linsley,  T.  H.,  132 

Locksmith,  T.  F.,  112 

Lonergan,  T.  E.,  116,  188 

Lord,  John  S.,  156 

Lundberg,  H.  B.,  Mrs.,  180 

Lyons,  10,  1 1 

MacLeish,  Archibald,  156 

Mail,  Delivery,  41,  78 

Mammoth  Spring,  5 

Mann,  A.  A.,  188 

Manufactories  in  Village,  145 

Masquerade  Ball,  96 

Mayer,  D.,  66 

Mayer,  H.,  66 

McAllister,  A.,  66 

McAllister,  Harry,  153 

McClintock,  James,  190 


McCredie,  William,  83,  132,  i£ 
McDonald,  Alva,  58 
McElhone,  F.  H.,  188,  189 
McKeand,  W.  B.,  Mrs.,  163 
McKenna,  E.  P.,  156,  182 
McKinstry,  A.  E.,  154 
McLeran,  G.  R.,  156 
McMakin,  Davis,  Mrs.,  190 
Mecartney,  H.  S.,  156 
Mecartney,  Malcolm,  168 
Memorial  Building 

Campaign  for,  160 
Merrick,  Dr.  J.  C.,   132,   188 
Merrill,  C.  D.  F.,  165 
Merrill,  D.  H.,  184 
Merrill,  J.  C.  F.,  118,  132,  188 
Merriman,  Rev.  Earl,  151 
Middaugh,  H.  C.,  91 
Middleton,  Eva,  101 
Middleton,  M.  H.,  188 
Millions,  Eben,  84 
Mitchell,  Geo.  H.,  132 
Mitchell,  J.  B.,  Mrs.,  184 
Mohr,  J.  P.,  132 
Monell,  John  J.,  90 
Moore,  Harold,  Mrs.,  177 
Moore,  Frederick  W.,  156 
Moreley,  L.  E.,  84,  190 
Morris  Flower  Shop,  112 
Murray,  Tom,  111,  163 
Music  Club,  181 
Myers,  M.  A.,  156 
Naper's  Settlement,  14 
Naumann,  Louis  J.,  156 
Newell,  L.  C,  132 
Niagara  Lime  Stone,  3 
Noble,  Geo.  W.,  133 
Nottingham,  Jerry,  83 
O'Brien,  Frederick,  156 
Ogden  Avenue— Southwest 

Highway,  7,  43,  45,  46 
Ordinances,  Early,  168 
Osborn,  C.  R.,  Mrs.,  164 
Ostrum,  William,  67,  133 
Ostrander,  Elias,  58 
Packard,  Franklin,  58 
Page,  Tom,  184 
Pape,  William,  163 
Papenhausen,  J.  H.,  70,  112 
Parent-Teachers  Assn.,  176 
Parker,  John,  188 
Parker,  John  C.  B.,  156 
Parker,  John,  Mrs.,  179 


200 


VILLAGE   ON   THE   COUNTY  LINE 


Pascall,  P.  P.,  133 
Payne,  Alfred,  133 
Peabody,  Francis  S.,  134,  151 
Peabody,  Stuyvesant,  152,  156 
Pearsall,  A.  L.,  133,  190 
Pearsons,  D.  K.,  141,  147,  176 
Peaslee,  J.  Frank,  189 
P.  E.  O.  Sisterhood,  182 
Perry,  D.  L.,  134,  188 
Pfeifer,  Charles,  112 
Phelps,  H.  Perry,  156 
Pierce,  R.  S.,  182 
Pierce,  Ralph,  Mrs.,  190 
Pioneer  Life,  Brush  Hill,  51,  52 
Police,  First,  100 
Politics,  Early, 

Du  Page  County,  31,  32,  33 
Pollock,  W.  J.,  Mrs.,  183 
Population,  191 
Postmasters,  190 
Post  Office  Locations,  190 
Powell,  Samuel,  83 
Pratt,  D.  W.,  189 
Preemption,  52,  53 
Presidents  of  Village  Board,  188 
Presidents  of  the  School  Board,  189 
Preston,  D.  H.,  134,  188 
Prouty,  George,  176 
Public  Library,  176 
Pugh,  A.,  134,  188 
Raftree,  M.  L.,  134 
Ransom,  Lake,  Shooting  of,  103 
Rawlings,  F.  M.,  190 
Raymond,  C.  E.,  134,  152 
Raymond,  C.  E.,  Mrs.,  190 
Red  Cross,  163 

Redeemer  Lutheran  Church,  173 
Redfern,  J.  N.,  189 
Reed,  Alanson,  97,  134 
Reed,  John  W.,  97,  134 
Regnery,  Francis,  183 
Regnery,  Wm.  H.,  123,  156,  165,  182,  il 
Reineke's  Grocery,  112 
Richardson,  J.  D.,  134 
Richie,  Bruce  E.,  134,  156 
Ridgeway,  J.  V.,  Mrs.,  183 
Rieder,  John,  46 
Roads,  Early,  39,  41,  42 

Plank,  43,  44 

Hinsdale  Vicinity,  54,  88,  89,  90 
Robbins,  Geo.  B.,  134 
Robbins,  William,  76,  77,  78,  93,  188 
Roberts,  John,  Mrs.,  181 


Robinson,  A.  R.,  114,  135 

Rockwell,  F.  W.,  189 

Rogers,  J.  W.,  66 

Rogers,  T.  S.,  66 

Ross,  Agard,  115,  135 

Ross,  Joachim,  67 

Ross,  John  C,  118,  135 

Roth  Building,  139 

Roth,  David,  66,  82,  135,  188 

Roth,  Syrena  B.,  190 

Rowell,  Wilfred  A.,  156 

Ruchty,  John  F.,  67,  135 

Rudolph,  Paul,  67 

Russell,  J.  W.,  104 

Ruth  Lake  Golf  Club,  153 

Ruth,  Linus,  153 

Ruth,  Linus  C,  135,  167 

Ruth,  L.  C,  Mrs.,  177 

Saint  Isaac  Jogues  Church,  173 

Salt  Creek,  4,  7,  61,  142,  143 

Samuel,  M.,  189 

Saunders,  C.  M.,  80 

Sawyer,  E.,  188 

Schmidt,  Charles,  67 

Schmidt,  John,  143 

Schmidt,  Wm.  E.,  163 

Schools, 

First,  49,  80 

Subsequent  History,  107,  174 
Schultz,  John,  162 
Scotford,  Howard,  121 
Scott,  General  Winfield,  25,  26 
Settlers,  Places  from  Where  They  Came,  29 

First  in  Downers  Grove  Twp.,  29 

First  in  York  Twp.,  48 
Seventh  Day  Adventists  Church,  173 
Shabbonna,  Chief,  18,  21,  27 
Shannon,  Edith,  101 
Shannon,  James  S.,  135 
Sheldon,  Walter  M.,  133,  162 
Sherer,  S.  B.,  90 
Shewell,  F.  W.,  99,  116 
Signers  of  Petition  for 

Incorporation  of  Village,  188 
Slade,  Dana  Jr.,  156,  189 
Slocum,  Robert  S.,  135,  188,  190 
Smith,  A.  M.,  90 
Smith,  Geo.  E.,  189 
Smith,  Jesse  E.,  156 
Smith,  Robert  F.,  Mrs.,  164 
Snitjer,  Dirkus,  90 
Snow,  C.  D.,  Mrs.,  176 
Snow,  G.  P.,  189 


INDEX 


201 


Soil,  Du  Page  County,  5 

Sommers,  Abner,  184 

Spears,  Thomas,  178 

Stage  Coaches,  39,  40 

Story,  H.  L.,  97 

Stough,  Oliver  J.,  81,  83,  95,  135,  171 

Stough's  Hall  (Gardner's  Hall),  95 

Straus,  Michael,  91 

Streets  and  Sidewalks,  86,  87,  89,  143 

Strong,  Caroline,  Mrs.,  Letter,  23 

Stuart,  Frances,  163 

Stuart,  James  F.,  135 

Stuart,  John  F.,  188 

Swartout,  James,  77,  135 

Symonds,  Courtland,  184 

Symonds,  Nathaniel  G.,  156 

Talmadge,  John,  46 

Taverns,  Early,  40 

Taylor,  F.  T.,  114 

Templeton,  Walter  B.,  156 

Thayer,  Carl,  135 

Thayer,  Ralph  M.,  156 

Thompson,  H.  R.,  83,  188 

Thurston,  David,  48,  66 

Tiffany,  Frances,  101 

Tiffany,  Joel,  93,  135,  188 

Timke,  Frederick,  67 

Towns,  Early,  Cook  County,  12 

Towns,  Early,  Du  Page  County,  29 

Tramps,  102 

Travis,  M.  B.,  Mrs.,  190 

Torode,  Nicholas,  54 

Torode,  Phillip,  112 

Towne,  A.  N.,  82 

Townsend,  H.  G.,  156 

Townsend,  H.  G.,  Mrs.,  179 

Townsend,  Perry,  112 

Tunk,  Fred,  67 

Underground  Railroad, 

Fullersburg,  A  Station  of,  62,  63 
Union  Church,  90,  171 
Unitarian  Church,  91,  171 
Using,  Tom,  84 
Utilities,  100,  116,  118,  144 
Utley  and  Frisbie,  147 
Vanderblue,  Homer  B.,  137 
Van  Inwagen,  Frank,  156,  162,  189 
Van  Inwagen,  James,  137 
Van  Inwagen,  Lucia,  101 
Van  Liew,  Dr.  F.  H.,  112,  137 
Van  Velzer,  Barto,  48,  137 
Van  Vleck,  James  B.,  156,  189 
Veeck,  William  L.,  156 


Veterans  Civic  Association,  178 
Veterans  of  Foreign  Wars,  178 
Village  Government 

First  Election,  93 

Troubles  of  the  Board,  100,  106 

Early  Ordinances,  167 

Organization,  169 
Village  League,  150 
Village  Manager,  Experiment,  154 
Wade,  Mary  L.,  156 
Wakeman,  Emily,  112 
Walker,  Alfred,  163,  182 
Walker,  Alfred  L.,  56,  57 
Walker,  A.  E.,  137 
Walker,  A.  E.,  Mrs.,  190 
Walker,  F.  H.,  Dr.,  83 
Walker,  J.  M.,  83,  90 
Walker,  James,  Mrs.,  164 
Warren,  Alice,  62,  137,  177 
Warren,  C.  C,  137 
Warren,  C.  T.,  137 
Warren,  N.  H.,  87,  93,  137,  188 
Warren,  Sarah,  Mrs.,  176 
Washburn,  C.  L.,  137,  146 
Washburn,  L.  L.,  Miss,  190 
Webster,  Frank  B.,  156 
Webster,  John,  137 
Webster,  Nelson  H.,  115 
Weddel,  Mac,  153 
Weddell,  Thomas  R.,  156,  189 
Weddell,  T.  R.,  Mrs.,  163 
Wegner,  F.,  66 
Wegner,  William,  67 
Weidig,  Adolph,  138 
Weir,  A.  M.,  104 
Welch,  W.  W.,  91 
Welch,  W.  W.,  Mrs.,  190 
Wells,  Geo.  H.,  93,  188 
Werden,  Fred,  62 
Western  Springs, 

Name,  79 

Spring  Water,  98 
Westmont,  Name,  79 
Wheeler,  Marcia,  177 
Whiting,  William,  188 
Whiteside.  N.  H.,  Mrs.,  153 
Wilcox,  J.  W.,  188 
Williams,  Albert,  115 
Williamson,  J.  G.,  Dr.,  112 
Williamson,  W.  W.,  156 
Willis,  Thomas  H.,  156 
Wilson,  George,  138 
Wilson,  George,  Rev.,  138 


202 


VILLAGE   ON 
L.,  156 


Wilson,  William 
Winship,  E.,  58 
Wire,  Geo.  L.,  156 
Wohlgemuth,  John  F.,  156 
Wolf  Hunt,  Du  Page  County, 
Wood,  J.  C,  156,  188 
Wood,  W.  W.,  95,  188 
Woodcock,  T.  J.,  138 


34 


THE   COUNTY  LINE 

Woman's  Club,  183 

Presidents,  190 
Wrede,  Richard,  67 
Wright,  G.  K.,  122 
Yorrick,  J.  G.,  55 
Young,  Arthur,  59 
Zimmerman,  J.  L.,  190 
Zion  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church, 
Zschack,  E.,  67 


72 


The  Land  Owner  Map,  showing  Hinsdale  streets  and  subdivisions  in  the  year  1869. 


Courtesy  of  Newberry  Library